


the heart's symphony

by jaejaesus



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Pianist Jaehyun, Singer Doyoung, Songfic, dojae endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27280288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaejaesus/pseuds/jaejaesus
Summary: “Feeling the vibrations that comes as a result of the keys I am playing is similar to feeling my heartbeat. Do you not want that?”Famous singer Kim Doyoung had always believed that there was forever in love.As he entered his sixth month of marriage with his husband, famous pianist Jung Jaehyun, that was when he realized that a forever in love was only a fairytale.Even the vows they shared during their wedding didn’t last forever despite promising it to be.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung
Comments: 6
Kudos: 48





	the heart's symphony

Marriage —  a culturally recognised union between people, called spouses, that establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws. 

But if one were to ask Jaehyun, the answer that he would give is that marriage was finally the time he would promise a lifetime with the person he loves.

The day they met, if he were to recall, was kind of unexpected. It wasn’t exactly like the one people would see in the movies. In fact, he was sure no one but them had experienced that kind of first meet-up.

Others would usually meet the person they would want to spend their lives with during their last years as a student in university, others would meet at the same workplace. And there were also others who would meet the person they would spend the rest of their lives with when being set up on a blind date, but managed to vibe with each other. Hence, they continued with whatever they had started from a cup of coffee to luxurious dates.

Not Doyoung and Jaehyun though, theirs was much more  _ unplanned. _

But there were also people like Johnny and Taeyong who protested about how they had already expected for them to get together at the end.

  
  
  


_ Back then, it was still rookie pianist Jung Jaehyun and rookie singer Kim Doyoung. Both were very ambitious with their dreams, wanting more than what they currently have. It wasn’t like it was a problem though.  _

_ Except the fact that the both of them hated each other, like it was more of a need wanting to rip each other’s hair off. _

_ If people were to ask their siblings Sungchan and Renjun, they would definitely say that their older brothers were idiots. _

_ “You guys don’t even compete in the same branch of music!” Sungchan exasperatedly told his brother, “You are a pianist.” _

_ “When did you learn to raise your voice at me like that, Jung Sunchan?” Jaehyun raised an eyebrow at his brother. _

_ He knew that Sungchan wasn’t actually mad at him, that his brother was just looking out for him. After all, it was just the two of them, with their parents working abroad instead of working locally in South Korea. _

_ Sungchan sighed as he looked up from his plate and looked up at his brother. _

_ “I just don’t want you to have issues with fellow musicians, hyung,” he blurted out. _

_ Jaehyun gave him a soft smile as he stood up, walked towards where his brother sat and wrapped his arms around him from behind. _

_ “Did I make my brother mad?” he questioned, his voice sounding as if he was talking to a five year old child. _

_ He placed his chin on top of his brother’s head as he repeated the same question, “Did I make my brother mad?” _

_ Sungchan huffed, “No.” _

_ “You’re so cute, Jung Sungchan.” _

_ “Thank goodness I didn’t take that cuteness from you, Jung Jaehyun.” _

_ At the other side though, with Doyoung and Renjun, it was more of the opposite. Instead of Renjun opening up about the issue to Doyoung, it was the latter who started the conversation about Jaehyun. _

_ Renjun groaned as he tried to cover his ears to refrain him from listening more to his brother’s rants. But sadly, Doyoung was persistent that he needed someone to  _ hear _ about how much of a bad person Jung Jaehyun was. _

_ And so, that was how Doyoung ended up tying Renjun’s wrists together as he continued his rant. _

_ “But Doyoung, is it really necessary to tie me up like this?” Renjun whined. _

_ “You need to listen to me, so of course you do,” Doyoung answered. _

_ “Doyoung, you have been talking about Jung Jaehyun nonstop. You guys only meet once a week, what is there to hate?”  _

_ Doyoung sighed as he rubbed his temples. He leaned back in his seat, and Renjun thought it was finally over and that he could run to his room and ignore the other for the rest of the night. _

_ That wasn’t the case though, because Doyoung still had so much to say about his so-called hatred for Jung Jaehyun. _

_ And that was how Renjun spent his night cursing his brother inside his head. Like, it was almost a routine of theirs to sit on the couch in the living room and all they did was talk about Jaehyun. More like  _ Doyoung _ talking about Jaehyun, because Renjun had only met the guy once yet he doesn’t understand where his brother got all this judgement from. _

_ This was Doyoung’s response. _

_ “That’s okay, Renjun. It is enough for only one of us to learn and know how much of a useless person Jung Jaehyun is.” _

_ Renjun wanted to smack his brother’s head right there and then, because he was so sure that the said pianist was a good guy. Especially what he had heard from Sungchan, who he knew was Jung Jaehyun’s younger brother who was coincidentally, his partner at the academy. _

  
  


That wasn’t exactly the start of their love story, as far as Jaehyun knew. The fact that everyone knew about the both of them considering each other ‘rivals’ despite being in different areas of the industry still amused him though.

But the day he had realized his feelings for the singer was definitely not one for the movies.

Because, who would realize that they actually like a person when the said person wants to rip their head off? Of course, it just had to be Jung Jaehyun.

  
  


_ “Did you seriously just lock us up from the inside?” Doyoung asked in a harsh tone. _

_ He was fine with the fact that he and Jaehyun collaborated with a project, for he knew how talented the pianist was. But who was he to forget about his hatred for the other? _

_ Doyoung was pissed to have been locked up in the same room as Jaehyun. Both of them didn’t even know how they ended up being in this situation. _

_ He was frustrated and every other word that comes with it. There were just so many things about the pianist that he hated that he could not believe that he was stuck in the same vicinity as him. And don’t forget that the room was quite small for his liking, so this event really frustrated him. _

_ “We were just practicing for heaven’s sake!” Doyoung exclaimed as he continued to pace back and forth in the room. _

_ In Jaehyun’s view, Doyoung seemed hot walking around like that, mad and upset about how the turn of events took place. _

_ But unlike the singer, Jaehyun was pretty chill about the whole ordeal. He remembered how the singer almost made everyone in his family sign a petition for him to  _ not _ perform as his singer. As he recalled it, he actually remembered laughing at Doyoung about it. _

_ “What?” Doyoung suddenly asked him. _

_ That was when Jaehyun realized that he wasn’t so quiet. _

_ “Do you know how much I despise the fact that I am spending the rest of my night here with you?” _

_ “Well I don’t. But you can always tell me,” Jaehyun replied as he wore a smug look on his face. _

_ Oh how much Doyoung wanted to rip that expression off his face right now. Only if that were easy though, because he would not dare touch the face of Jung Jaehyun. _

_ “You know,” the pianist started, “if you hate it so much, why don’t you just jump off the window right now?” _

_ Jaehyun pointed to the window on the wall, which gave them the opportunity to view the whole of Seoul from the 32nd floor. Now, Doyoung doesn’t want to die yet so he just huffed and sat on the sofa a meter away from the pianist. _

_ They just sat there in silence, waiting for dawn to break so they could act like madmans and the security guard that would do their rounds late at night could immediately notice them and open the door for them. _

_ The silence, if Jaehyun were to say, was suffocating. _

_ There was just something about Doyoung that made him feel suffocated. And that was when he realized that it actually wasn’t about Doyoung, it was  _ what Doyoung just did _. _

_ Feigning a face of disgust, Jaehyun stood up from his seat and covered his nostrils. _

_ “You farted, didn’t you?” _

_ Doyoung looked at him peculiarly, “Me? I thought it was you.” _

_ “I don’t have an upset stomach.” _

_ “Does having an upset stomach equivalent to farting?” _

_ “Just say you did fart,” Jaehyun said. _

_ Doyoung simply glared at him and mouthed him a curse word. But instead of wanting to punch the mouth of the singer, Jaehyun thought that Doyoung cursing at him was hot. _

_ Not that he would admit to it though, because that would be kind of embarrassing. _

_ Time passed as the clock struck midnight, indicating they had been in the same room for almost three hours now. And by the way Doyoung has already closed his eyes as soft breathings came out of his mouth, Jaehyun understood that it must be past his bedtime now. _

_ He sighed as he looked at the position the singer was sleeping on. His head resting on the palm of his hand, his arm pushing down onto his thigh for support, and the way he wasn’t leaning against the sofa to sleep. It made Jaehyun worry for him, and he doesn’t want to be blamed if the singer were to feel pain the next day. _

_ “I did not sign up for this,” Jaehyun muttered under his breath as he stood up from where he sat. _

_ He started approaching Doyoung’s unconscious body then tried to help him sleep in a much more comfortable position. He thought that it would definitely be the singer’s fault if his wrists were to hurt the moment he woke up. _

_ As Jaehyun helped Doyoung sleep in a more comfortable position, his breath hitched when he felt the other wrap an arm around his shoulder.He swatted all those thoughts away from his mind as he continued to lay the singer properly on the sofa. _

_ It was a miracle that the sofa was just the right length for the sleeping singer, or else he would also have to complain about his legs. _

_ Once he was finished, Jaehyun crouched down to meet Doyoung’s face. He admired the structure of the singer’s face, from his hairline to his eyebrows to his eyes to his nose, then to his lips.  _

_ Unlike his own, Doyoung’s lips were much softer and definitely not chapped.  _

_ The temptation to run his fingers along the other’s cheeks were too high for Jaehyun to resist, but he must. He doesn’t want to deal with another foul-mouthed Doyoung the next day. _

_ What shocked him was the fact that he was enjoying the way Doyoung breathed when he was sleeping, his chest rising slowly as he breathed in and as it deflated when he breathed out. _

_ Jaehyun gulped at his thoughts for he never knew it was possible. He may be in denial, telling everyone that Doyoung was just a rival for him. But right now, he might be doubting his own words. _

_ He silently cursed Doyoung for having to start the brand of them as rivals, for all he wanted was for them to be on good terms. _

  
  


So Jaehyun would admit that what happened in the room after practice was actually  _ common  _ amongst films, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t appreciate it one bit.

Because of that one eventful event, it led him to where he was, the day he had been waiting for. 

His and Doyoung’s wedding day. 

And just by thinking about it brought warmth to his soul as he recalled every little thing he and Doyoung had done that led them to his day. 

They had only started to grow closer about a year ago, but they were certain that this was what they wanted. To be married and finally enjoy the unlimited coupon of sleeping in each other’s arms.

As Jaehyun checked himself for the last time on the mirror, fixing the creases on this suit and properly fixing his tie, he finally told himself that he was ready. That this was the moment he and Doyoung had always wished for.

From their hiding moments in the building to their short kisses during restroom breaks and to the constant need of hugging each other but still in secret, he just could not believe that they were about to get married.

_ “As they said, true to life enemies to lovers,” _ Jaehyun recalled his brother telling him when he informed Sungchan about how he and Doyoung started to date.

Jaehyun was deep in his thoughts that he didn’t realize that there was only one minute left until the ceremony. He was grateful for a best man like Mark, he truly was.

“Jaehyun, it’s time!” the younger loudly from outside the door.

He checked himself one last time then turned his body away from the mirror. Jaehyun smiled to himself as he tried to fix his hair, then proceeded to walk towards the door. He twisted the doorknob and opened it to be greeted by Mark, who was also wearing a suit similar to his.

“I should’ve let you wear a pink navy blue suit instead of a black one. You would have stood out from the rest,” Jaehyun said as he checked Mark out from top to bottom.

“And what did I tell you about saving money?” Mark questioned to which the older simply sighed.

“This is my wedding. Why can’t I get what I want?”

“Because your want is not my want,” Mark deadpanned as he fixed the buttons on Jaehyun’s suit, noticing that it wasn’t properly buttoned, “And done.”

Jaehyun looked down towards where the buttons are, then flashed a thumbs up as he looked up to meet Mark’s gaze.

Mark simply nodded as he gave out a smile on his own.

And then, the best man grabbed the soon-to-be wedded man in front of him and started to dash down the hallway towards the chapel.

“Now, let’s go. We don’t want the other soon-to-be husband to arrive before us.”

  
  
  
  


On his way to the chapel, Doyoung could not believe that all of this was happening. All he remembered was that he hated Jaehyun to the guts and now, he was about to marry him. Everything seemed funny to him, especially the fact that they had only started to grow close about a year ago. 

He remembered how he would purposefully throw bad remarks at Jaehyun whenever the other would perform in front of the company. And Jaehyun being Jaehyun, would also send him a remark about how bad he sang a song.

Everything changed though when he and Jaehyun were given a chance to collaborate in a song. That time, Doyoung knew he had a choice to back out and let the pianist find another singer for the song he composed, but knowing himself, he knew that he would actually agree.

Like why not? Jaehyun was known across the country for being one of the best pianists in this generation. And Doyoung might have thought of using it to his advantage. 

But never did he expect that he would actually enjoy the other’s company with the same enthusiasm of him hating on the other. He remembered ranting about it to Renjun and he also remembered the way he shuddered at the thought.

Through the collaboration they had, Doyoung learned more about the other. And he couldn’t help but agree to what Renjun said about Jaehyun being a good person. Was he aware of his brother’s friendship with Jaehyun’s brother? Yes, and that thought alone haunted him.

Even until this day, because he was sure that both of their younger brothers would share that part of their story.

From the snarled comments to the constant need of threatening each other. From the awkward tension during their first meeting to their much comfortable phase, Doyoung just could not believe he was about to marry the man he thought he hated so much.

As he felt the car pulled over at the steps of the chapel, Doyoung prayed to himself silently, hoping that there would be no party-crashers during the ceremony. He had been waiting for this moment ever since Jaehyun proposed the idea of them marrying each other during their 3rd monthsary.

_ (“Jaehyun, we have only been dating each other for three months,” Doyoung told him over a bottle of wine and a plate of steak. _

_ Jaehyun shrugged at him, “I don’t know Doyoung, but the fact that we know each other since our rookie days is already enough.” _

_ “We hated each other, Jae!” _

_ “Well, people did say that the more you hate, the more you love.”) _

Doyoung still remembered the cheesy words Jaehyun whispered to his ear before kneeling down on one knee and opening a red velvet box that revealed a ring. He almost cried at how beautiful the ring is, its golden material being the most fascinating thing Doyoung has ever seen.

And how could he forget about Jaehyun renting out a studio just for them?

The memory of it has been engraved in his mind, as if it was the only thing he needed to remember. And like a broken cassette tape, the said memory would just start playing out of nowhere and Doyoung would feel so warm inside as if he was the summer in winter.

He remembered it, from the way Jaehyun held his hand towards the studio, repeating to never let go of him. To them giggling and stealing kisses on the elevator, obviously taking advantage of the fact that they were alone. Them running towards the said studio, afraid that a fan of theirs might see them together — and also to keep the image of them hating each other. 

And when they entered the studio, Doyoung remembered seeing all kinds of fairy lights. But the one thing that stood out from the lights was the piano in the center of the room. He was sure that it wasn’t Jaehyun’s since a piano that big would never be easy to bring. Unless the pianist rented it out just for this occasion.

Doyoung remembered how Jaehyun held his hand and led him to the center of the room, and how he placed his hand on top of the piano. And after that, Jaehyun took a seat as he pressed one key down.

  
  
  
  


_ “Promise you will never let go of the piano?” Jaehyun asked him before starting to play. _

_ Doyoung whined, “Then how am I supposed to move?” _

_ “Feeling the vibrations that comes as a result of the keys I am playing is similar to feeling my heartbeat. Do you not want that?” _

_ The singer choked and coughed as the remark and he just waved his other hand at the pianist. _

_ “Whatever. Just play the song you prepared,” he said. _

_ As Jaehyun pressed the first keys to the song, Doyoung didn’t have to think twice why the song was so familiar to him. It wasn’t just a song. _

_ It was their song. _

_ It was a song that was made for Kim Doyoung and Jung Jaehyun alone. _

_ “Jaehyun,” he called as he let the tune of the piano keys sink into him _

_ “What else would I play except the song that has brought us together?” Jaehyun asked _

_ as he looked up to look at his ex-boyfriend now fiance. _

_ Doyoung was beautiful, Jaehyun told himself as he looked at the way the singer’s eyes _

_ were closed as he started to hum to the tune of the song, his head swaying from left to right. _

_ “If only I could dance with you under the moonlight, I would,” Jaehyun suddenly said. _

_ Doyoung opened one of his eyes as he looked at the pianist, “Then why can’t you?” _

_ “Because if I would, then who would play the song for us?” _

_ Doyoung chuckled as he fished out his phone from his pocket, opened it and skimmed through his library, saying that Jaehyun was lucky that he managed to save a copy of their song. Though happy, the pianist pouted at how he wanted the night to be more special with him playing the song instead. _

_ Once it was all settled, Doyoung pressed play on his phone as he set it down on the piano, the speaker of his phone facing towards the floor where they would most probably dance. As the first keys of the song were played, he started to walk from where he stood to where Jaehyun sat. _

_ “May I have this dance?” he asked in a gentlemanly way. _

_ Jaehyun held back a short laugh once he heard the sudden use of the accent that Doyoung was using, but nonetheless, he took Doyoung’s hand into his and stood up. _

_ “You may, and you shall.” _

  
  
  
  


Doyoung remembered the emotions of that night, happiness and pure euphoria present in every inch of his body. He remembered the way Jaehyun held onto his waist as he led the dance they did.

What made it more beautiful, in Doyoung’s opinion, was the fact that as they were dancing, moonlight shone past the glass windows into the room, making it seem more magical than it already was. It was beautiful, and there were no other words that could explain what he felt.

Deep in his thoughts, the soon-to-be wedded male was surprised when someone abruptly opened the door next to him. And Doyoung was not even surprised when the person who opened it was none other than Lee Taeyong — his best friend who he regretted making his best man.

“Hey, what’s up with that look of yours? You should be smiling right now!” Taeyong suddenly remarked as he leaned in closer, his thumbs ready to plant themselves on Doyoung’s lips.

Knowing what he was about to do, Doyoung went further inside the car as he tried to swat away the other’s approaching hands.

“Do you even know how many hours I did my make-up for this?”

“You mean, the make-up you  _ paid _ ?” Taeyong asked back.

Doyoung rolled his eyes as he fixed his hair, “Whatever, you single human.”

Taeyong was taken aback. If it were a normal day with no occasion whatsoever, he would already have bickered and retorted to the other that he was in a perfect relationship right now, But since it was Doyoung’s day, he let it pass and would deal with it later.

They were silent at first, not really sure how they should progress from here. If Doyoung should already step down of the vehicle, or if Taeyong should already start escorting the soon-to-be wedded towards the door of the chapel.

Both of them chose the latter.

As Doyoung stepped out of the car, bouquet in his hands, he felt like he was about to transition into a whole new world. 

He remembered the stories his mother would tell him of the time she had met their father, and he would always remember adoring the look on her face. And it was because of that same look did it make him believe that love was a genuine feeling and that it would never be broken.

If Doyoung were to ask Renjun, the younger would say it was a stereotype, but he was certain that love was indeed going to last forever. Like how his parents had lasted for over 20 years now, them getting married when he was just five years old.

“Are you ready for this?” Taeyong asked as Doyoung finally managed to get himself out of the car, making sure that his white suit wouldn’t hit the sides of the car.

Doyoung calmed down his nerves as he held onto the bouquet a bit too tightly then sputtered out, “Am I ready?” 

“I am asking you the question here,” his best man replied.

“I know that.”

“Then?”

“I was asking myself. Gosh Lee Taeyong, not everything is about you.”

They were on the verge of bickering, Taeyong completely forgetting about what he promised of not fighting with Doyoung on his wedding day, when someone suddenly patted down on the best man’s shoulder.

Taeyong was about to give them a snarled comment about how they were ruining a moment here when he realized that it was actually the wedding manager who tapped on his shoulder.

Both of them stopped in whatever action they were doing earlier, then in unison did they greet the manager in front of them.

The manager, on the hand, just gave them a peculiar look but nonetheless, let it slide, already aware of how the two act around each other.

“So what brings you here?” Taeyong asked the person in front of them.

“It’s time for Mr. Kim Doyoung to enter the chapel now,” she stated, “Everyone’s waiting.”

If Taeyong didn’t notice the wink that the manager gave at the end of the sentence, Doyoung surely did. But he wasn’t sure if it was directed at him, or at Taeyong, or at the wind.

He let the action slide, trying to focus that this day was  _ his and Jaehyun’s day _ , and that no one would ruin it for them.

Once the best man finally regained composure, Taeyong looked at Doyoung as he prepared an arm for the other to hold on.

At first, Doyoung was confused. He had been to a lot of weddings already and was already aware that this was normal. But never did he imagine that when it was already him doing the action did it feel so foreign.

Sensing the shift in the air, Taeyong placed a hand on Doyoung’s shoulder as he gave a comforting squeeze. And to add, the other did protest at how it would probably wrinkle his suit, but he didn’t mind about it anymore.

“Doyoung,” Taeyong said in a voice he knew the other had found comfort in, “everything will be okay. There is no need to worry. I know everything might seem new to you since this is your first time getting married, but please remember that even Jaehyun finds everything new. Neither of you had experienced this before, so why doubt if you are doing the right thing?

“Marriage isn’t the same as an equation where you need to take note of every step. It differs to each couple, and I know that you and Jaehyun would be able to find your own steps in marriage.”

Doyoung would be lying if he didn’t shed a tear at what Taeyong said. The word choice and context were simple, but the meaning behind it was a different story. The pair had been together since highschool days when Doyoung still wasn’t a famous singer yet, and they have obviously exchanged a number of advice and encouraging words to each other.

But this was different. Maybe it was because of the ambience that the wedding ceremony was giving, but even without that, it felt different. As if Taeyong was about to let Doyoung go, but they both know that wouldn’t happen.

With no words that could be properly formed, Doyoung decided to take note to thank the other later and simply gave him a smile then hooked his arm with his.

“Let’s go?” Taeyong questioned.

Doyoung nodded a bit too enthusiastically, “Let’s go.”

In the midst of walking, a sudden thought came into mind which Doyoung wanted to slap his best friend for about.

“Wait, why is it me who is bringing you to Jaehyun? Shouldn’t it be your parents?”

“Taeyong, I already told you that my parents can’t come today.”

“Why not? It’s your wedding day,” Taeyong remarked.

“How can they come here if all flights from Norway to Seoul are fully packed?” Doyoung said.

“How about your grandparents? Aunt and uncle? Why is it me?”

“Can you just shut up? We are already close to the chapel. We don’t want the audience to know how big of a mouth you are.”

“Just so you know that I will shut up. But only for now, Kim Doyoung, because I will get to the bottom of this and make sure that I get to know why you chose me. Heck, even Renjun would have been bringing you there!”

Doyoung just wanted to slap his best friend right now. The other claimed to be an expert when it comes to weddings, yet right now, he was already doubting why he was the one bringing Doyoung to Jaehyun.

  
  
  


Wedding bells rang, indicating the start of the ceremony. To say that Jaehyun was not nervous was understatement. He could practically feel his palms cry from him clasping it together too hard.

His mind was running on different kinds of thoughts as the entourage started to come in inside the chapel, with Mark as his best man being the one to walk down the aisle first.

He felt himself calm down and lessened the tension on his hands when he felt Mark gave him a small squeeze, and as he looked up, Jaehyun felt warm inside as the younger flashed him a smile, and mouthed that there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

After Mark, the rest of the entourage came in, from his parents to Doyoung’s aunt and uncle since his parents weren’t available, from the principal sponsors to the secondary sponsors. Then came in the cutest segment of the entourage which consisted of children.

Jaehyun giggled a little as he noticed the ring bearer stumble a bit with his footsteps, he giggled a bit more when he realized that it was the nephew that Doyoung introduced him to just a few weeks ago. He remembered the said nephew stealing his ice cream even though it was already eaten. 

_ (“If you can steal Uncle Doyoung’s heart, then why can’t I steal your ice cream?” Jisung the nephew asked him. _

_ Doyoung just laughed as Jaehyun felt his cheeks warm up at such a smart statement. In the end, he just let the kid take the ice cream and bit off Doyoung’s ice cream instead.  _

_ And with that, it resulted in one of the most pettiest fights they have ever had.) _

From the ring bearer, the next one who came in was the Bible bearer. After, the next one to enter was the flower girls. Everyone cooed at how cute the little girls were, from wearing flower crowns on top of their heads to the pastel colored motif dresses of theirs. 

It made Jaehyun smile at the thought that everyone found the choices of the dress cute. Maybe if he would just inform everyone that Doyoung was the one who chose it, then the whole audience would be wiping off tears from their eyes, crying because of how cute the thought was.

The little girls threw petals from the little baskets in their hands to the aisle below them. Jaehyun smiled back at the little girls when they waved at him, their smiles being the  _ second _ cutest thing in the world after his soon-to-be husband’s gummy smile.

Soon after, the groomsmen entered, with Johnny leading the three pairs. As expected of the other, he tried to make his walk as entertaining as possible, but maybe the other realized that it was too awkward and out of the ambience right now, since Jaehyun noticed the sudden change of attitude from him. It was funny, but he wouldn’t say that out loud in front of both of their families.

At first Jaehyun was confused as to why everyone started standing up as soon as the last pair of groomsmen had reached their seat. Then it dawned upon him.

The nervousness that he felt earlier came back rushing in as he heard the wedding bells ringing once again. He prayed that during the duration of the ceremony he wouldn’t mess things up. All he wants is to make sure that the ceremony would go as accordingly as it should so it would be a good memory to be ingrained in his soon-to-be husband’s memory.

But the feeling of nervousness suddenly washed away when he heard the loud booming sound of Doyoung’s voice resonating amidst the silence of the audience in the chapel.

_ “Lee Taeyong, stop taking pictures of me, will you!?” _

In Doyoung’s perspective, he thought that the audience was just silent since they were waiting for him and that they were even more silent as they were all astonished by the beauty that was him.

But he felt embarrassed when he realized when he had actually said those words earlier, the door had already been opened for him to enter. He wanted to cover his face with his hands to not let people see the blush creeping on his face, but then he decided against it.

There were two reasons. One, because he was wearing make-up. And two, it was the smile Jaehyun was giving him from the altar. 

Despite having a slightly good vision, Doyoung could take note of the dimples that started to carve in his soon-to-be husband’s cheeks. And that action alone made him think that everything after what he just did would go well. After all, he just wanted the best for their wedding.

Once he and Taeyong regained their composure, the both of them held onto each other’s arms as they started to walk down the aisle from the entrance of the chapel.

As Doyoung walked down the aisle, the only thought running in his mind was that if this marriage was actually happening today or was it just a figment of his imagination. It wasn’t that he was in disbelief, it was just that everything seemed so surreal that it made him think twice if he was watching a film or not.

As he walked down the aisle, different things were also happening to Jaehyun as well.

It wasn’t different in a bad way, it was actually the good kind of different. 

When Doyoung thought as if this was a movie he was walking from the comforts of his bed, Jaehyun thought that the latter was the most beautiful person he has ever seen. The white suit had hugged Doyoung’s body proportions in so much detail that he could start to see the muscles the other had gained as a result of him working out for the past two months.

And the waist, Jaehyun would never forget about how Doyoung’s waist was defined today. It was as if the suit had suited him so well that it would never let the other go out without having to define his body proportions.

Was Jaehyun complaining in his mind right now? Maybe a little bit, for he was sure if the other people would think that Doyoung was single, they would already be thirsting for him in his suit.

Just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine, and he hopes everyone would be aware that he and Doyoung were about to have a marriage of a lifetime.

Time started to fly slower when the both of them felt each other in a close proximity as them. When they both shared eye contact, with Doyoung lifting his head up from the bouquet he was looking at since the start of his walk, it felt like all the time had stopped and that it was just the two of them inside the chapel.

And instead of the usual playing of piano keys in the background, it was the fast beating of their hearts being the background music instead.

At first, their hearts were beating in different measures, Jaehyun’s much faster than Doyoung’s. But as the more time passed, they could feel and hear their hearts starting to beat in sync.

It amazed them at how the body works in mysterious ways.

But as they were now in the closest proximity with each other, Taeyong still holding onto Doyoung, they felt time starting to go at its usual pace once again. That didn’t stop the in-sync beating of their hearts though.

“Take care of him well,” Taeyong told Jaehyun as he gave out Doyoung’s hand to his.

Jaehyun took a good look on Doyoung, who was now about to hit his best friend in the head again for how sarcastic he actually sounded with his message.

When he was about to answer, Taeyong added some more  _ meaningful _ words. And Jaehyun had a thought that it must be because he sensed that something was about to shift.

“But really Jaehyun, I hope you do take care of Doyoung. Like this kid right here,” Taeyong said as he titled his head towards where the person of topic stood, “would never shut up about you when you guys first met. He may have said he hated you to the point of throwing you out of the building at the break of dawn, but being his best friend, I can see right through him.

Taeyong added a little wink at the end, which did not go unnoticed by Doyoung. And the latter wasn’t sure if he should be hurt or if he should fake out a cry right there and then.

Jaehyun’s response though, was that he smiled and thanked Taeyong for being with Doyoung today as someone to represent his side of the family. He also thanked him for being with Doyoung through all of his ups and downs, and that he was surely the one who kept his soon-to-be husband on his feet when they were still “rivals.”

“Suddenly, I don’t know if this is Doyoung’s wedding or mine. Because really Jung Jaehyun, I think you are going to make me cry,” Taeyong replied.

Doyoung was about to tease the latter, but stopped when he realized that there was still a ceremony to be held, and that they were just not going to keep standing there as if the chapel was a coffee shop and that the reason they met was to simply catch up.

He gave a look towards Taeyong, who was actually staring at him, his eyes brimming with tears of joy. Doyoung was touched at the action, happy that his best friend had always been supportive of him since the first day they met.

He patted the other with his other hand and gave him a small smile.

“Thank you, Taeyong,” was all he said, but they both know that their actions speak louder than the words they have exchanged.

After the somewhat a bit  _ too long _ exchange in the aisle, Taeyong finally had let Doyoung go as he started to continue on his way down the aisle and towards his seat. And that leaves the soon-to-be wedded couples standing side by side with each.

Jaehyun held out his arm for Doyoung to take. And as if it was already his second nature, Doyoung held onto Jaehyun’s arm as he held the bouquet properly on his other hand.

The contrast of their white and black suits was satisfying to the both of them. What made the contrast even more special was that it was the other who chose the other’s suit, despite that being against some beliefs of their families. In other words, Jaehyun chose the white suit Doyoung was now wearing, and vice versa.

The couple shared one last look with each other before they continued to walk down the aisle.

“What do you say, my prince?” Jaehyun asked, his voice trying to be as romantic as possible.

It was at this moment that he gave up on trying to be romantic because even during their wedding day, Doyoung was still as sarcastic and was very  _ Doyoung _ as ever.

“I don’t know Jae. Do you think we should leave and let the marriage happen on its own?”

  
  


Just like any other wedding ceremonies, the ceremony started with the presider welcoming the guests and the soon-to-be wedded couple. After that, they continued on with the declaration of intentions and the prayer of the day. There were also readings that are related around marriage, and despite everything, the only thing that was both on their minds was that they could not believe everything was happening.

They were just in bad blood with each other not a few years ago, and now they were about to exchange vows then exchange rings. And not to mention that it was about to happen in front of both of their families.

Everything passed by in a blur, both of them nervous yet excited to finally end the day. They were also excited that they could be able to show the whole world that they were meant for each other.

And just like that, the exchanging of vows began. The first one to speak was Jaehyun, so as they stood up, he accepted the microphone being held his way as he recalled the words he practiced for the past nights.

“Doyoung,” Jaehyun started, “Kim Doyoung. Doie, during the first year of knowing each other, the only word that was in our vocabulary was  _ hatred _ . I still remembered how you threatened me to not wear the same clothes as you because when we met for the second time, you hated the fact that I was wearing a snooze sweater, while you were wearing a booze hoodie. Never did I realize that on that day, I actually have met the love of my life.

“Kim Doyoung, I absolutely have no idea what would we be doing right now if we were still the  _ rivals _ we let the public believe us to be. Imagine the shock they would experience when they realized that the most famous rivals of South Korea suddenly decided to fall in love and marry each other. But enough about them, this isn’t about them. This event is for us and for us alone.

“Doie, we may have been rivals before, but let us look at our present and future. And I promise you that from today until tomorrow and until the end of time that I will be your navigator and sidekick in all of life's adventures. I promise to be your best friend and your husband. I promise you myself completely.

“And never will I let you go, Kim Doyoung,” Jaehyun said as his last statement to his vows.

Jaehyun’s palms were sweating as he held onto the microphone, afraid of the reaction Doyoung would have. Different questions surrounded his mind as he waited for a reaction from the person in front of him.

_ Was I too cheesy? _

_ Was it wrong for me to mention our past? _

_ Gosh, what if he hated the fact that my vows is much longer than his? _

The last question made him chuckle. When they first started dating, he actually thought that their rival antics would pass and that they would just continue to be tooth-rotting fluff boyfriends that they are. But what did he even expect? Until this day, he and Doyoung were just as competitive as ever, and Jaehyun thinks that now they are dating, the competition has risen twice as hard.

His train of thoughts came to a halt when a choked out sob resonated from Doyoung.

Jaehyun looked up from his hands to meet the glossy eyes that his lover was wearing. He wanted to coo and pinch the singer’s cheeks, but decided against it. A wedding ceremony was supposed to be formal, and all the cheesy actions and the constant display of affection could happen during the reception.

Doyoung, who was taken aback at the words the pianist has said, tried to find the right words to say. But he could not believe the actual words that left his mouth.

“Jung Jaehyun, how dare you write your vows twice as long as mine?”

His statement caused silent laughter to erupt from the mouths of those who were witnessing their wedding. Doyoung could feel his cheeks heat up, but just one look at Jaehyun, all of the feelings of embarrassment washed away as the smile of his lover appeared on his face.

That was one of the things that he loved about being Jaehyun’s. Just one look at him would be able to bring comfort and warmth inside him. His dimpled smile was just a bonus, but nonetheless, it still gave the same effect.

They shared eye contact at first, both of them not sure at how long it lasted, but they immediately broke away when the presider finally signalled to let Doyoung speak his vows.

The singer cursed silently as he realized that even if he did try to speak each syllable longer, his vows would never be as long as Jaehyun’s. Heck, was it even close to being as heartwarming as the pianists?

Then he cursed at the fact that his lover was actually a pianist. And playing a piano was basically the same as writing poetry, having to let out a lot of your feelings out through a way that you can express yourself fully.

“So, this may not be as long as yours,” Doyoung started and he wanted to trip the smug look on Jaehyun’s face.

Who even decided to make wedding vows a competition?

Ah, right. It was him, and he hated the fact that his competitor had exceeded him in it.

“Jung Jaehyun,” Doyoung continued, “Jaehyun. Jae, I also honestly have no Idea why I disliked you at first. Yes, you were insufferable and probably the most annoying thing ever. But you and I know that those things that I told you were just lies that would be used to cover up my true feelings for you.

“I really have no plan to keep this long, and I will keep it that way. Why would I need to be cheesy when I have you in my life? And did I just call you the personification of cheesiness? Yes.

“Jaehyun, I may not be as cheesy as you but I just want to say that my life is forever entangled with yours from this day on. My dreams are your dreams, and I'll build it all around you. Forever with you simply will not be enough, but from this day forward, I vow to make the most of every moment.”

And with that Doyoung ended his vows. He swore that he could hear his brother laughing at him from the audience while he was still talking. Renjun was definitely lucky that it was his wedding day, or else.

It was silent at first, but then people started to coo and Doyoung wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

What made him the happiest though was when he looked in front of him and saw that Jaehyun was already on the verge of spilling his tears. It made his brain short-circuit at how his lover was about to cry when the vows he just said were much shorter compared to his.

And maybe it was telepathy, but Jaehyun actually answered his question, forgetting that they were inside the chapel and in front of a presider that they have just met.

“And you say that mine was the most heartwarming one. Doyoung, you just made me cry and ruin my make-up,” Jaehyun spoke while trying to hold back sobs.

Doyoung would have laughed at how emotional his lover could be at times, but since this was their wedding day, Jaehyun could be as emotional as he could get.

He was about to reply to the words the pianist just shared, but didn’t when the presider signalled for the start of the exchanging of rings.

He remembered the day that he went to choose the rings for him and Jaehyun. Doyoung remembered how vast the choices were, but being himself, he still remembered that during their first monthsary together, they accidentally passed by a jewelry shop. It was that time he remembered Jaehyun joking about the rings he wanted them to wear in case they get married.

And Doyoung being a human encyclopedia of the one and only Jung Jaehyun, he may or may have not bought the exact pair his lover wanted.

When the rings arrived for them to exchange, Jaehyun silently gasped as he looked at

Doyoung for a quick second. He still remembered that day when they passed by the jewelry shop, and he may have jokingly told him about wanting the pair of rings. But he did not expect Doyoung to surprise him like this.

Jaehyun felt warm inside as he picked up the wedding ring he was about to insert on his lover’s hand. He moved his body from the Ring Bearer and went to face Doyoung. He went and grabbed his lover’s hand, and then inserted the ring.

“It looks so beautiful,” he whispered to himself.

There was obviously no lie in his statement. The golden band was beautiful against Doyoung’s skin, complimenting it.

He was also sure that his lover had heard it since he could see how Doyoung had clenched and unclenched his fists  — a habit of the singer that he learned when they first started dating.

After Jaehyun, it was Doyoung’s turn to exchange the ring. And just like the pianist, he also couldn’t help but to admire the beauty of the silver band he had just inserted in his lover’s hand.

He wanted to say something cheesy for Jaehyun, but decided to use it for later because he believes that if he were to add up to the vows he said earlier, the pianist would already be a crying mess in front of their families.

Once the exchanging of rings was over, the blessing was given and the lighting of the unity candle. 

And finally, it was the part that everyone had anticipated ever since the pair were about to get wedded. It was finally the introduction of the couple.

The presider said his final blessings for the couple in front of him, then said.

“May I now present to you the newly wedded couple, Mr. Kim Doyoung and Mr. Jung Jaehyun. From this day, may your days only be full of blessings and may you love each other until the end.

“May you now kiss the husband.”

As if they have been waiting for an eternity just to kiss each other, Jaehyun led the kiss by grabbing onto Doyoung’s neck and pulling him close to him, minimizing the space between them. 

And Doyoung, who was also as desperate, let Jaehyun pull him in close.

They paused for a moment to look at each other’s facial features. Both of them would never get used to this despite the number of times they have kissed. There was just something about their face that whenever they would kiss, it was as if they were kissing for the first time all over again.

Their breathings started to move at a similar pace as time passed. 

Jaehyun stared at Doyoung’s eyes as the singer did the same. As they looked into each other’s eyes, they could see the shine that they knew would only be present whenever the other was around. The more they looked into the other’s eyes, they could find themselves getting lost in them.

Jaehyun finally looked away from the other’s eyes, then found himself landing on Doyoung’s lips. Feeling the stare on the said body part, the singer nodded, giving the pianist permission to the kiss he was about to initiate.

And just like that, Jaehyun pulled Doyoung close for the second time, but this time, close enough to close the gap between them.

As their kiss continued — feeling the butterflies dancing and the singing of angels around them, they felt their heart beating as one. Like it meant that the kiss was connecting every inch of their bodies and souls together, as if they were puzzle pieces that had finally found their missing piece.

If a hater of the romance genre were there, they would not be able to deny the atmosphere that surrounded the newly wedded couple. It felt surreal that it made everything seem like it was all a fairytale.

And only that, but maybe because of the kiss the couple just shared, might be they were going to get converted and would be finding themselves indulging in romance films every night.

The kiss Doyoung and Jaehyun shared was longer than expected. It was sad that they had to break apart, but they would rather kiss more in the comforts of their bedroom instead of having to do it in front of their families.

Once they backed away from each other, the audience cheered, obviously happy for the newly couple. But despite the loud cheers, both Doyoung and Jaehyun could easily spot their younger brother’s voices shouting at the top of their lungs.

“Get some dick tonight, Doyoung!” Renjun shouted, formalities dropped.

Doyoung would have already scolded his brother for being informal with him, but decided to let it pass since he still needed to wear a business smile for their families, and also to not ruin his reputation.

On the other hand though, the wording might have been a little less  _ explicit _ than the words Renjun decided to shout inside in the church.

“May the Lord be with you always, and may your honeymoon phase never end!” Sungchan shouted out loud.

There was a comparison between the youngsters. One, Renjun had to stand on their seat so he could get his words across to Doyoung, while all Sungchan had to do was to stand straight then raise his head and form his hands into a makeshift speaker. And two, Renjun obviously was too much for his own good, like who would actually say ‘dick’ in a chapel? Then there’s Sungchan, who decided to hope that they never would break out from their honeymoon phase.

Jaehyun simply smiled at his brother as he waved him off. Sungchan would have been disappointed, but he was already used to the actions his brother would direct at him.

To be honest, it did hurt a bit, but they’re brothers. And Sungchan firmly believes that brothers would always act like that around each other.

Once the cheer died down, the photographer of the wedding gathered around the families for a group photo with the couple. 

And if one were to ask Doyoung, he would love to remember this memory, even if it means that he only has to see it again in a piece of paper. There were just so many things unsaid about this picture, and the fact that this was actually the first and last picture that would have both of the families present — excluding his own parents.

To commemorate this picture, he decided to give it his all when he smiled. And he hoped that whenever he would see this picture, the feelings he had today would also be felt when he looked at this a few years later.

Once the photoshoot was finally over, from family members down to friend groups, Doyoung could feel small drowsiness starting to take over.

It all washed away though when he felt Jaehyun creep his fingers from his shoulder to his arm to his wrist and to his hand. The pianist paused in his actions, and Doyoung wanted to groan at how it made his skin boil when they still weren’t holding hands despite their hands being in such close proximity.

His breath hitched when he felt the pianist’s hand hold his, then he squealed when he felt Jaehyun intertwining their fingers together. When the action was done, both of them shared a look, then fits of laughter and a wide smile were immediately displayed.

“Hey Doyoung,” Jaehyun called, “do you still remember how to run?”

“Run?” Doyoung asked, “Why would I need to run?”

As the saying goes,  _ actions speak louder than words _ , Doyoung yelped when he felt Jaehyun tugging him forward, as if asking him to run.

But knowing Jaehyun, he would never take ‘no’ as an answer. So as they started to run from in front of the altar and down the aisle, Doyoung laughed at the fact at how stupid they must look like. 

With Jaehyun leading the run, their hands intertwined with each other, and as Doyoung held onto the bouquet as if his life depended on it.

Jaehyun may have been watching too many rom com films since this kind of action only seemed cool on movies. And Doyoung would definitely be stupid if he would not conclude that they looked stupid.

But to hell with stupidity and judgement. 

This was their wedding day, and since it was _ their wedding day _ , they will not let any judgement from their families affect them. If Jaehyun thinks that what they were doing right now was romantic, then romantic it is.

Both of them ran down the aisle, then ran out of the chapel then proceeded to run down the flight of stairs. At the bottom, there was a car that had been waiting for their presence to bring them towards the ballroom where they would hold their reception.

Since Jaehyun was the first one to arrive, he opened the car door then immediately followed inside. Despite being a second late, Doyoung still managed to follow in tow then once he was settled inside the car, he closed the door shut.

Once they managed to catch their breath from all the running, they laughed at each other for what they had just done.

“I hope they got it on tape though. Imagine how cool it would look like,” Jaehyun said through laughter.

“Trust me, it will look cool,” Doyoung replied.

When the laughter died, the feeling left was them looking at each other with pure admiration. They still could not believe that they have decided to marry each other out of all the people who would want to marry them.

Unconsciously, they found themselves holding hands, intertwining them in the process.

When both of them realized what they were doing, they didn’t find the urge to let go and move away from each other. Instead, they squeezed each other’s hands and let it rest between them as they felt the car starting to move forward.

Normally, leaving a place would just mean that you were going home and ready to end the day. But today, leaving a certain place seemed different to the new couple. Was it because of the fact that they just got married?

No matter how the question would be rephrased, the answer would always be  _ yes _ .

Leaving the chapel today meant that they have already accepted the fact that they have exchanged vows in front of everyone, promising each other a future together. Not only that, but as soon as they left the gates of the chapel, the first thing that came into mind was that they weren’t actually just leaving a place. They were now also leaving the world of being boyfriends. 

Because now, they were about to enter a whole new world that consisted of marriage and everything that falls in between.

  
  
  
  


Once the reception was over, Doyoung was ecstatic at the fact that they had finally arrived at their new home.

Normally, couples would have been staying at a hotel room after the reception. But he and Jaehyun had different plans. They decided that once they got married, on the first night of their married life, they would be sleeping on top of their newly furnished bed. Jaehyun reasoned that it would be like, a sign of something new and that sleeping on the said bed would indicate the  _ official _ start of their married life.

As if they haven’t been sleeping on the same bed for the past few months, but Doyoung decided to keep that to himself.

The reception was, as expected, fun. But everything may have gone out of hand when it was Renjun’s turn to speak.

Renjun being Renjun, he decided that the best start to his congratulatory speech for his brother would be all those countless nights that he decided to rant about Jaehyun. Doyoung would never forget how hot he felt when he recalled all those things, embarrassed that both of their families were aware of the things he shared with his brother.

What scarred him the most was the fact that his parents also decided to join the reception through a video call. So that meant, they may or may have not heard the stories being shared by Renjun.

Doyoung also recalled the teasing he got from Jaehyun once Renjun finished his speech. The pianist had never been aware of the things the singer talked about him, so it was a given that the pianist would clown him once he was aware of everything.

_ (“But I can’t believe that you had to tie Renjun just so he would listen to you,” Jaehyun supplied. _

_ “Would you like me to tie you instead for being a brat?” Doyoung questioned. _

_ “Gladly,” the pianist smirked as he leaned in his seat. _

_ Doyoung may or may have not choked on his saliva.) _

Now as he laid on their bed, already wearing his newly bought silk pajamas, Doyoung couldn’t help but wonder about their past for the nth time this day. Everything just seemed so unbelievable. From the way they hated each other, to them denying their feelings, then came the day that they have finally come to terms about their feelings. 

It was obviously a rollercoaster ride, and he had enjoyed every turn and loop of it.

Unknowingly, he smiled as he brought the comforters closer to him, making Jaehyun raise an eyebrow at him.

“Doyoung, are you alright?” Jaehyun asked as he buttoned up the last button of his silk pajamas.

The pajamas they were now wearing were a couple set, a gift from Sungchan who was secretly saving up money for this. It warmed Jaehyun’s heart that his brother actually considered buying him a gift on one of his special days.

As a response to the question earlier, Doyoung sighed lovingly as he averted his gaze from the ceiling towards his lover.

“I just can’t believe everything that is happening, you know.”

Jaehyun smiled, also feeling the same feeling and thinking the same thing. 

As he joined Doyoung on their bed, he didn’t hesitate to pull his lover into a cuddle for them to lay as the night caves in. And the singer, who would not miss any opportunity to feel his now-husband’s arms around him, wrapped his arms around the other’s waist .

Doyoung nuzzled into Jaehyun’s chest as he felt the pianist run his fingers on his hair. What he loved about cuddles was that he could be able to take in and smell the scent that his lover had. And honestly, that was one of the best feelings ever.

“Doyoung,” Jaehyun called to his husband.

Doyoung hummed in response.

“Do you think, if we hadn’t been stuck in that room that night, would we still end up like this?”

Doyoung backed away a little as he looked up to meet Jaehyun’s gaze, “What makes you say that, Jae?”

“I don’t know. I have been thinking about the events of our past to our present, and I just don’t know where it had actually fallen into place.”

Knowing this would end up in his husband ranting about everything in existence, Doyoung gave Jaehyun a short kiss on the lips to revert his thoughts to what was important.

“Jaehyun,” Doyoung called, “no matter what date and time where we actually realized our feelings, I just know that at the end of time, we would be happily married and be sleeping in each other’s arms.”

And with that, both of them shared one last kiss, one full of love and admiration for the other, before they head to bed. 

As they slept, they hoped for a bright tomorrow and a positive chain of events for their married life.

  
  
  
  


༒❦༒︎

  
  
  
  
  
  


_ six months later _

Six months ago, they shared a loving kiss on this very bed.

Six months ago, they shared one of the most heartwarming conversations known to mankind.

Six months ago, they decided to sleep in each other’s arms as a sign of something new. A way to welcome the fact that they were finally happy and married.

But six months later, what exactly was the meaning of being ‘happy and married’? Does marriage guarantee a happy life? Does happiness guarantee a perfectly made married life?

As he laid on the bed that they have grown to appreciate each other more, Doyoung couldn’t help but let different things come in running through his mind. There was just so much happening in his life right now.

Call him clingy and the likes, but he wondered around the question why Jaehyun hasn’t been contacting him for the past two weeks now?

Doyoung completely understood about the pianist’s career, and the fact that the other had gained so many opportunities in the past months made him ecstatic and happy. He was happy at the fact that his husband was getting the recognition he deserved.

He still remembered the day where Jaehyun came home running, envelope in hand as he lifted Doyoung off the floor as he spun the singer around. Everything about him that day, it was pure bliss and happiness that whenever Doyoung would remember it, he just couldn’t help but to feel hurt at the fact that the happiness there wasn’t present until today.

He remembered how Jaehyun peppered him with kisses on every inch on his body, the praises the pianist told him before they headed to bed that night. His reason? It was because of the news of him being able to sign a contract with one of the biggest entertainment companies in the United States — the country being known for having the biggest music industry in the world.

Doyoung knew that he was supposed to be happy Jaehyun, supporting his dreams and goals in life. He knew it was selfish, but he couldn’t help but to think that the dreams and goals that his husband had were all for himself and that he wasn’t part of the consideration.

He tried, he really did. But look where he was now, laying on their supposed to be shared bed, the moonlight shining from the outside to the insides of their room, thinking of how his husband must be feeling right now.

_ Was he also wondering about his well-being? _

_ Is he doing well? _

_ Did he just forget to bring his charger and that he couldn’t call me was because he lost all of his battery life? _

Those were the three questions that Doyoung would repeat on the daily, wanting to believe only good things about his husband, and that his husband was still completely in love with him.

“What a joke you are Kim Doyoung,” he said to himself loudly, filling in the silence in their bedroom.

Normally, Doyoung would already have been playing the vinyl records found on the shelves in their bedroom to fill in the silence, but he felt like whenever he touches it, it was as if it stings. Feeling things that belonged to Jaehyun stung him, and Doyoung had never thought that he would come to this point.

He had always thought that love was forever, firmly believing it because that was what he saw from his parents.

His parents, Doyoung started to recall, were the most beautiful pair he had ever seen. Not only did they look good together, but there was something in the air that made them deserve the title. Whenever they would look at each other’s eyes, there was just love and pure admiration. And now that he was thinking about it, he couldn’t help but to wander off to the thought of whether Jaehyun had ever looked at him that way.

Doyoung sighed as he turned around in his position to look at the space where Jaehyun was supposed to lay. The pianist had left around three months ago, two days before their third month as a married couple.

He remembered pleading with the pianist to postpone his flight that month, just so they could celebrate their monthsary together. But then, he remembered the pianist’s reaction. How his words were mixed with spite, as if he doesn’t like the idea of celebrating their third month together.

He also remembered how they slept last night, their bodies facing away from each other. 

Doyoung also remembered little tears falling that night, and Jaehyun didn’t even move to comfort him.

It pained him, but there was nothing he could do.

And this was his husband, so he needed to be supportive of him. Even if it meant to get hurt along the way, because Doyoung knows, he knows and he will believe in the fact that he knows that everything would make a good turn in the end.

That night, Doyoung had slept whilst hugging the pillow covered with one of Jaehyun’s black shirts. Hugging it as if it was Jaehyun itself, and pretended that the said pillow was also hugging him back as he imagined them cuddling in each other’s arms.

Just like how it was six months ago.

  
  
  
  


Jaehyun overlooked the city of New York as he sipped on his morning coffee. He had always loved this feeling, sipping on the lukewarm liquid as he felt the sunlight reaching his skin through the window.

He was lucky enough to buy such a beautiful penthouse in the main part of New York City. And he was also happy that the penthouse he bought had one of the most beautiful views in the whole city.

As he continued to overlook the view, he couldn’t help but to let his thoughts wander off to his husband, who he had unfortunately left in Seoul.

Jaehyun remembered the argument they had when he told Doyoung about the fact that he needed to fly off to the States to start off the biggest step in his career. He also remembered how the singer held back tears and that he didn’t do anything about it.

What even pained him the most was that Doyoung had only come to see him leave for a few minutes, and the kiss they had was the shortest they ever had. As if there were words left unsaid between them.

Until this day, he still does not understand what had happened.

But once he had settled in America, Jaehyun still remembered how he and Doyoung would use any means possible just so they can catch up with each other’s days. And despite their different time zones, they had managed to make it work.

But now, as he sipped on his cup of coffee, his mind wandered off why they haven’t talked this past week now.

If Jaehyun were to be honest, there was something bothering him ever since he had left Seoul that day. Like there was something odd about how he and Doyoung had cuddled the night before he left, how their texts with each other seemed dry, and how their kiss seemed, bland.

Weird, right?

And he doesn’t even know how he thought about that.

As much as Jaehyun kept telling himself that everything would be alright and that in time, everything would go back to normal, he couldn’t help but to think about the worst.

He knew that he hasn’t been the best husband lately, forgetting about contacting his own husband and even greeting him a good morning.

Heck, he doesn’t even remember when he and Doyoung had last said  _ I love you  _ to each other.

It sent shivers down his spine as he thought of it more. He doesn’t want to dwell on the thought, but he couldn’t help it. It was just, so loud and at the same time, it seemed possible.

Jaehyun knows that Doyoung also could feel it, the feeling of them starting to grow distant with each other. At how every time they would think of the other, it stung them somewhere and they couldn’t help but to overthink about it.

And he was completely aware of the messages his husband in Seoul had sent him for the past two weeks. He wanted to reply to it, he wanted to say something. But whenever he would, his fingers can’t seem to do it. As if a force was acting against it.

He sighed as he rubbed his temples.

“What a way to start the day Jung Jaehyun. Now you made coffee bittersweet.”

But Jaehyun knows, and he knows that Doyoung knows as well, that in four weeks time, they would finally be in each other’s arms again. 

And that they would be the fairytale couple the world has been talking about once more.

  
  
  
  


**True To Life Enemies to Lovers**

**Wedding of Kim Doyoung and Jung Jaehyun**

Doyoung remembered the news headlines that were released when the netizens became aware of their relationship. But the one that he would always find himself remembering was the one that had  _ true to life enemies to lovers _ . He remembered Jaehyun sharing to him about how one of his friends called their relationship that. Must also be the reason why out of all the headlines, that was the only one he remembered.

He sighed as he sipped on his straw. He was now waiting for Renjun to arrive at their usual coffee shop. There wasn’t exactly a reason in mind, but knowing his brother, he would eventually find out the reason why despite himself not knowing about it.

When Doyoung heard the bell on top of the door ring, he looked up and he was glad that it was actually Renjun who had arrived, and not some stranger. Like, he has been waiting for 30 minutes now.

“Doyoung, I’m sorry I’m late,” Renjun apologized as he sat down on the seat in front of his brother.

Noticing the drink in front of him, Renjun pointed towards it, “You already ordered?”

“Well if you weren’t late, then you would already have been the one choosing,” Doyoung replied.

Renjun nodded as he lifted up the cup and sipped on his straw. He silently moaned at the sensation the drink had brought to his mouth, finally filling in the thirst he was feeling for the past hour.

“So,” he started as he placed down the cup, “what brings you here?”

“Am I not allowed to meet you?” Doyoung asked as he pretended to aid his broken heart from how straightforward his brother was being.

“But knowing you, there must be a reason why you decided to meet me out of all people.”

Doyoung groaned at the fact at how Renjun could read him so easily. But then again, they were brothers. They basically knew everything about each other from the shape of their eyes towards the shape of their toes.

Noticing the silence, Renjun decided to think of a speculation based on the recent events. He may have not been in contact with his own brother, but he had Sungchan. And being friends with Sungchan meant having to listen to his rants about his own brother.

And Renjun swore that he hated the fact that he was the person Sungchan had decided to let out his frustrations to. It wasn’t that he hated it, because being there for each other was the world for them.

But he questioned if the other had actually realized if that he was telling him all about it, then he could also mention it to his own brother?

Renjun groaned inside. He knew so much about how Jaehyun was feeling, but he barely has an idea of how his own brother was feeling.

But knowing Doyoung, he would never indulge on the topic unless it's being placed directly in front of him.

He was aware that this would sting, and Renjun was sure that Doyoung knew what he was about to say, because the older was now talking nonsense about mint chocolate. And that meant he was distracting himself from the main topic and the reason why they were gathered.

“Doyoung, it’s about Jaehyun, isn’t it?”

And that was all it took to silence Doyoung.

Doyoung knew, he knew that he could never get away from this. He knew that no matter how much he tries to hide it, there would always be that one person who could see through him.

And that was how he ended up tearing up in a coffee shop which resulted in a panicking Renjun and looks from other customers.

  
  
  


Doyoung was grateful that Renjun knew what to do in almost anything. He was glad that the younger had managed to bring him out of the coffee shop and to a nearby park instead.

Once they had settled on one of the benches, Doyoung sat down as he kept his gaze on his shoes. And how much he hated doing that, because just by looking at the said pair of shoes, he could feel different kinds of emotions running through his veins.

Why wouldn’t he? The pair of shoes he was literally was not his but Jaehyun’s, which was weird since he would never use another pair of shoes besides his. He never even had tried using his husband’s shoes, not until today.

Renjun had headed off to buy some bottles of water so Doyoung decided to just let his mind wander off to somewhere.

A few minutes had passed, and the thing that had brought him out of his reverie was Renjun using the cold water to make contact with his skin. He obviously flinched since the said bottle of water was too cold, but the flinch would never compare to what he was actually feeling right now.

Once Renjun sat down and had let his brother take a sip from the bottle he had just bought, he decided to bring up the topic once more. But this time, more careful in case his brother gets into another shock.

“Doyoung hyung, what happened?” Renjun asked as he placed a hand on top of his brother’s shoulders.

He could feel his brother’s shoulders shake but immediately stopped, and he concluded that it must be from the training of him as a famous artist. And that thought alone spiked up another question, but Renjun decided to keep that one for later.

For now, they needed to talk about what exactly was happening and that if there was anything he could do.

Doyoung was hesitant at first, afraid to speak up about the truth behind the fairytale wedding everyone thought had happened half a year ago, but this was Renjun. He was going to speak to Renjun, his own brother, who he knows would not judge him despite the things he was going to say.

And so, he sighed as he started to narrate what exactly he had been feeling ever since Jaehyun had left Seoul.

He narrated every single thing of it, not leaving any detail. Even adding the most unnecessary details just so Renjun could understand the context.

He mentioned how they haven’t been talking for the past two weeks now. At how Jaehyun hasn’t been replying to the messages he would send every night. At how everything started to change when distance and different time zones found their way into their marriage.

And of course he added the part where just by thinking of the pianist stung him. It was as if Jaehyun was a needle that would prick him in every corner of his body, whether be his toes or the tip of his fingers.

Doyoung was too deep in his thoughts and his words that he didn’t realize that he was already sobbing the more he talked about the other. Was it because he missed him? Was it because there was something happening between them, but he wasn’t sure what?

Oh how much did he want to believe that it was the first, but with everything happening, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Doyoung had only noticed that he was crying when he felt himself getting engulfed in a hug by Renjun. He noticed it when his face made contact with his brother’s shoulders and that he immediately felt something wet make contact with his cheeks.

He tried to stop the tears, but feeling Renjun’s hands draw circles on his back made it even harder. It was just so comforting, and there were so many things that haven’t been said. It made him feel his chest tighten so he pulled back from the hug to drink some water.

Renjun felt bad for his brother. Not only did he not know about what was happening, but he also had no idea that these were the kind of thoughts his brother was having. He may not be Doyoung, and Sungchan may not be Jaehyun, but as a brother, both of them would try to understand them as much as possible.

Renjun remembered the late night conversations he would manage to overhear from Sungchan whenever the younger was on a call with Jaehyun. He could hear the broken voice of the pianist every time he would mention Doyoung’s name.

At first, he thought that it was nothing and that it would all go back to how it was. But seeing his brother now, it seemed like what was happening between them was something much bigger than expected.

And it saddened Renjun that there was nothing he could do for his brother. He wasn’t an expert in relationships nor had he experienced anything related to it, but for his brother, he would try everything just so he could fix what was broken.

But is it even possible to fix what is already broken?

Renjun shook that thought away as he looked at Doyoung. And with just that, he knows that anything is possible if we believe that it would be.

  
  
  
  


A month had passed and Jaehyun had found himself back in his roots.

He held onto the handle of his luggage as tight as he could. He had arrived in Incheon ten minutes ago, but there still wasn’t a sign of someone picking him up. Before he had left the States, he remembered that he reminded Johnny and Mark about his arrival today, but there was no sign of the both of them.

Of course he wasn’t completely ignoring his own husband, so he did message Doyoung about his arrival today. But even his own husband wasn’t in the airport.

Jaehyun sighed as he took in the South Korean air. It smelled different than the air in the States, even though both are just air. There was just something different with what you take in whenever you go to another country.

He was this close to calling a grab when he noticed a familiar car driving towards him from the corner of his eyes. From his phone, Jaehyun looked up to see who was driving.

And of course, it was Doyoung. His husband would always be there for him even if things aren’t in the best shape.

He would have already been running towards the singer, but when he took in the details of Doyoung’s face, he couldn’t see it,

He couldn’t see the excitement, the happiness, the admiration, the anticipation. And the one thing he had feared the most: not seeing love on his husband’s face.

So instead of running and jumping on his arms just like what happens in the movies, Jaehyun simply dragged his luggage towards the back of the car, opened it then placed his belongings inside. He carefully walked towards the front door of the car, but he paused when he saw Doyoung already sitting on the front seat.

“Doyoung,” Jaehyun called out, but the singer said no words. 

Instead, Doyoung simply pointed towards the driver’s seat and Jaehyun sighed. He really thought that just by texting the singer would resolve anything between them, but that wasn’t the case. 

He went towards the driver’s seat and closed the door. He tried to make it as impactful as possible, but even by that, Doyoung still didn’t react to him.

Giving up, Jaehyun just decided to start the engine and drive their way back home. Hopefully by then, Doyoung would start talking. Because if he doesn’t, then he might go nuts at how silent it was and how the air was so full of tension that he wasn’t sure if it was healthy or not.

  
  
  
  


When they arrived home, it was as if almost immediately Doyoung went out of the car and entered their house, leaving the door open for Jaehyun to enter.

Jaehyun’s mind immediately started to think of reasons why his significant other didn’t even acknowledge him. Weren’t they fine already? Weren’t they already on speaking terms?

If so, then why was Doyoung not speaking to him?

He went out of the car and got his luggage from the trunk of the car. He dragged his luggage on the pavement, lifted it as he climbed up the short flight of stairs, then dragged it once again when he arrived at the door.

Once Jaehyun entered the living room, he noticed how everything seemed to be in place. Not that it was a bad thing. What concerned him though was how everything seemed to be in place,  _ as if _ no one had been living in their house for the past months.

He didn’t really put his mind into it though, thinking that Doyoung might only have been staying in their bedroom during the duration of them being far away from each other.

There wasn’t anything in particular that he expected would he see in their shared bedroom.

Honestly speaking, Jaehyun may have expected a bed full of roses and Doyoung looking up at him with lustful eyes, as if ready to devour him and that was the main reason why he hadn’t been speaking on their way home.

But when he saw how dull the room was, it made his stomach churn. He noticed how everything seemed to be in place, just like the situation in the living room. What contrasted against the orderly arrangement of things was the vanity table.

Even from afar, Jaehyun noticed how wrecked it was. From the crack forming at the edge of the mirror, from the disarranged order of perfumes, to the picture frame that was being placed downwards.

_ Wait a minute _ , he thought in his mind.

_ The picture frame. _

_ Isn’t that our wedding picture? _

Jaehyun had let go of his luggage as he walked towards the vanity table. When he arrived at the table, more confusion came into mind. The edge of the table was covered in scratches. And not only that, but there were also shattered glasses on it as well.

Seeing the condition of the table frightened him, already afraid of what the condition of their wedding picture would be.

He prayed to whatever deity was listening to him right now that the one object he cared about the most would be safe to whatever harm the table had done through. So with shaking hands and only one eye peeking, Jaehyun’s hand went out to reach out towards the frame.

When it was finally in his reach, he lifted it up as slow as he could, nervous at what might be seen.

Relief came running to his veins as he saw that there was no damage on the picture frame, nor a dent on its edges. It made him breathe out a sigh of relief, knowing that Doyoung must have placed it down just so it won’t get ruined by the source of this scratches.

Just when he was about to place back the picture frame, he heard a loud scream from what he could assume was the bathroom, resulting in him to be surprised and startled at the sudden sound.

And not even a second later did he hear a loud shattering of glass by his side. When Jaehyun looked down from his hands towards the shattered glass on the floor, that was when he realized that he may have ended up letting go of the picture frame he was holding.

But that didn’t matter at the moment, and he knew it.

What the matter was right now was,  _ what the hell happened in the bathroom? _

Jaehyun started to head towards their shared bathroom with a fast pace and quickened footsteps. When he arrived, he was greeted by a shaking Doyoung and another shattered material on the floor. But unlike the picture frame which resulted in the glass shattering, it was porcelain.

He might have not been using his brain for investigative stuff, but just by one look at it, he knew what it was. And it somewhat made something inside him shatter when he realized that it was exactly what he thought he was.

It was silent between them, only the hurried breathing of Doyoung resonating across the room. No one had dared move, afraid that if they did, it might result in another shattered material.

When Jaehyun thought it might be good to leave and get the broom to clean up the mess, he suddenly felt Doyoung’s hold on him, the singer’s arms wrapping around his waist.

He was shocked, despite the fact that this was supposed to be normal for him and Doyoung since they have been married for the past six months now.

But it didn’t.

The hug that was initiated seemed foreign to him. As if the embrace was given by a stranger instead of his own husband.

That thought alone made him question something, but he wasn’t sure what the question was.

So as if hugging a stranger, Jaehyun had found himself struggling to hug his own husband. He was slightly glad that he managed to hug Doyoung back, who was now crying on his shoulder and repeating words that were being muffled by Jaehyun’s body.

But even then, the lingering thought in his head and the churning of his stomach seemed to grow louder.

And everything happening right now was the exact opposite of what Jaehyun had envisioned as his welcome back to Seoul. Because instead of love in the air and the admiration in their eyes for each other, there was dullness and stillness in the air and their actions.

  
  


An hour or two had passed, and it made Jaehyun’s spirit roar in glee as he found the both of them starting to calm their nerves down. The events of today may not have been what he had expected, but he was still hoping that once tomorrow comes, their whole world will go back to how it was.

Sadly, that wasn’t happening tomorrow.

Nor the next day.

Nor the next week.

Nor the next month.

Or even the next years to come.

Jaehyun sat on his seat, still. He felt goosebumps rising as he had finally processed the words that had fallen out of Doyoung's mouth a few moments ago. And he hated the fact that he actually had listened, because if he hadn’t, then he wouldn’t have informed of the fact that there was no hope for them anymore.

“What?” he asked, his voice firm.

Despite his voice being as firm as possible, it didn’t faze Doyoung one bit. It was as if the singer had been feeling numb for the past two weeks to the point that the feeling of numbness on his body was a constant and a normal reaction.

“Jaehyun,” Doyoung called out his name for the first time tonight. And if the pianist were to be honest, he hated how the sweet emotions that used to come with his name whenever the singer would say it was now gone. As if it had suddenly disappeared.

“Jaehyun, it hurts. It stings. Everything hurts, even the thought of you hurts. Which part do you not understand?” this time, Doyoung was now looking at him with the face of his, similar to a dead corpse.

“Doyoung,” Jaehyun called out as well, “the part that I do not understand is the fact how you can say this as if it's the easiest thing in the world.”

The singer snorted, “So was accepting the offer that had been laid to you without even a second thought easier than having to discuss it with me first?”

Jaehyun did not know where the sudden confidence or whatever emotion that was running inside Doyoung, but talking about the job he had always wanted and doubting about it was one of the things he had always despised.

“Doyoung,” he said as he heaved a warning.

Unfortunately for him, the singer had no motivation to care. Doyoung was done, and he was sure of it. They may have promised in front of both of their families that they were going to spend a lifetime together, grow old and live with their adopted children, but the recent events were taking a toll on him.

It may not have been physically since Jaehyun would never hurt him that way, but emotionally. 

He was emotionally hurt about the fact that Jaehyun had chosen his career over him despite them only being newlyweds. They haven’t even adjusted properly from being boyfriends to married couples, one of them had already decided to leave the other.

“Doyoung,” Jaehyun called again.

The tone of his voice made something tick inside Doyoung, and as if a bomb had suddenly exploded, he too, had also exploded.

“What!?” he shouted as he slammed his fist on the table, resulting in both of them getting startled, Even Doyoung, because he had never done such a thing before.

But nonetheless, he continued.

“Do you really think that I was going to throw you a ‘welcome home’ party? Do you really think that I was going to be happy for you about your contract? Did you really think that I was going to be happy despite everything happening?”

At this point, Jaehyun had also stood up, his height towering over Doyoung’s with a short difference.

“Yes, I have thought of that. Yes, I thought you were going to be happy for me, And yes, I thought you were going to be happy for me.”

“What a lie have you decided to deceive yourself with, Jung,” Doyoung snarled.

Jaehyun stopped for a moment, trying to process what was happening. Then it hit him, the reason why Doyoung hadn’t been speaking to him since the morning. The reason why everything seemed dead. The reason why the vanity table was in a horrid shape.

_ And the reason why their wedding picture was being placed downwards instead of standing up as if to boast the people on it. _

As if he had changed completely, Jaehyun had immediately found himself trying to hold onto Doyoung’s hand, as if trying to console him about how he could fix this. He actually wasn’t also sure why he was apologizing. There was just something in him that told him to.

It was all failed attempts though, because every time he tried to hold onto the singer’s wrist, Doyoung would step away from him.

_ Was this what Doyoung felt when I forgot to text him? _

Feeling it now made him feel weak, regretful. Jaehyun found himself starting to question everything, if the one thing he had always wanted was more important than the person who he proclaims to be the love of his life.

Then it dawned on him, the foreign feeling of their hug earlier.

His face contorted into a face of disbelief as he looked up at Doyoung.

Words weren’t needed to be as of the moment, for both of them knew what the other was thinking. It may have not been telepathic, but there was just something in the air telling them that they were thinking the same thing.

But behind all those thoughts, the thing that was speaking louder in his mind was the voice of his brother, telling him that he had always known of what Jaehyun has been doing but never had told him for he assumed that he and Jaehyun were keeping tabs on how their days were going.

  
  
  
  


The previous night, the both of them had fallen asleep with a big space between them. Unlike how they used to be six months ago with cuddling every single night, they slept as if they were back to their first stage as rivals.

Or maybe even lower than rivals.

When Doyoung woke up, he wasn’t surprised to see the space beside him empty once again.

As the time passed, the more he remembered the events of last night. Of him and Jaehyun arguing in the dining room, both of them raising their voice to Jaehyun trying to hold onto him but he rejected.

Was he feeling guilty? Yes.

Was there anything he could do? No.

What could even mend his broken heart? More heartbreak?

Doyoung snorted at the thought, how could a heartbreak even mend a broken heart?

Before he stepped out of bed, he had noticed a sticky note on top of the other’s pillow. As much as he wanted to ignore it, the urge to reach for it and read was loud in Doyoung’s mind. 

So reading it may not have been the best decision, but it wasn’t also the worst decision he had made. 

On the sticky note, it wrote:

> **_Doie,_ **
> 
> **_Are you sleeping right now? Ah wait, you are. How foolish of me. So uhm, I completely understand how you were feeling last night, no need to apologize. But I’m sorry, I am sorry for the fact that I hadn’t been the ideal husband that I had promised me to be._ **
> 
> **_I know that you aren’t mad at me, right? You aren’t right?_ **
> 
> **_Haha, that’s what I have been telling myself, at least._ **
> 
> **_And don’t worry, I didn’t leave. I’m actually in the study room. I just thought that you may not want to see me first thing in the morning._ **
> 
> **_Just knock on the door if you want breakfast, because I would gladly make it for you._ **
> 
> **_— Jae_ **

If Doyoung was the same man that he was half a year ago, he already would have been squealing and screaming at the top of his lungs at how sweet his lover’s words were.

But he wasn’t the same man. If he were, then he would have also been screaming right now and running towards the study to pepper Jaehyun with the kisses he deserves.

But he wasn’t.

No, he didn’t change as a person that much. What changed in him was his perspective of everything that is related to love.

From the very beginning, he had always been a firm believer of love. How love would last for a lifetime, how meeting your love can guarantee a life full of happiness, and how love can be the only thing that makes you happy.

But all those beliefs came crashing down when he realized how it stung his heart to think of his husband. How seeing the things he loved made him want to turn a blind eye on it.

Everything came crashing down as soon as their third month of marriage came, when his pianist of a husband decided to leave for the States.

It may not have been Jaehyun’s fault, but he was still a factor to it.

Doyoung knows, he knows that he was mostly the one to blame about everything. Even Renjun had pointed it out to him when he decided to open up about his problems.

But Renjun wasn’t the only witness. Sungchan was there with him, and he was actually surprised at how Jaehyun had no clue about it. For the past years of knowing the Jung siblings, Doyoung would already have thought that the younger Jung decided to tell Jaehyun.

If only he hadn’t thought about it too much, then maybe he would still be in love.

But his thoughts had overpowered him, now look at where he was. Unhappy and had unknowingly, fallen out of love with someone who he thought was his everything and future.

With a heavy heart, Doyoung started his way towards the study room that they had decorated together. 

If he were to be honest, this was going to be his first time in a while to visit the study room, completely forgetting about it when Jaehyun left for the States.

As he pushed open the door, he was immediately greeted by a happy Jaehyun who hugged him as soon as the door had been open completely.

Oh how much he wanted to cry, he wanted to cry at how Jaehyun wasn’t deserving any pain from the results of his overthinking. He wanted to cry at how the pianist did not deserve him to be his husband.

There were so many things on the list that he wanted to say, but when he felt his husband’s thumb caressing his cheeks, that was when he realized that he was actually crying.

Now, he found himself hugging back the pianist who was now running his fingers through his fingers as he sang him a tune.

Maybe Doyoung should have just blurred out the tune, because upon hearing it, it just made him cry even more.

He couldn’t believe that the song that he and Jaehyun made a year ago used to make him so happy, but right now, it was the cause of his tears and choked out sobs.

  
  
  
  


If Jaehyun were to recall, he would say it was three days ago ro four days ago. He wasn’t sure about how much time passed, but he remembered the words Sungchan told him about on the night of his trip.

He remembered how his younger brother told him about what Doyoung was feeling, how the singer felt numb and how he felt that not everything was not the same as before.

And to make things worse, Sungchan just had to bluntly say that Doyoung had fallen out of love, and that everytime he would think of him, everything would hurt to the point he would hit the corner of the vanity mirror until a crack would appear.

There was a reason why Jaehyun pretended to not know anything about it, why he just pretended to act innocent about the singer’s feelings.

It was because he knows that one day, Doyoung would come back to him and that they would go back to being the happy couple they were.

When Sungchan ended their call that night, he remembered crying while binge-watching Doyoung’s favorite movies, as if it would give him the answer he needed. What was funny was that he was crying over comedic and action films. But what can he do, crying was a form of releasing sadness and the likes.

As he watched the movies, all he could think about was how was he supposed to make up for it. How to make it not hurt when it was supposed to. At first, he had actually considered divorcing Doyoung, but if he actually did that, then nothing good would come out of it. For he was sure that once they sign the divorce papers, they would both end up hurting more.

That was how Jaehyun planned out something for Doyoung to do with him, even just for a day. And the next day, they would leave things where they were, then when they are ready, they would meet again and be the most romantic couple that they were.

Before he finally decided to go to sleep, Jaehyun had trained his mind to prepare for whatever event might happen as soon as he got back.

And he was glad that he did, because imagine if he didn’t. Things would have gotten out of hand as soon as they both have stepped foot inside their shared home.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Doyoung excused himself towards the bathroom when Jaehyun informed him that he should probably start cooking breakfast before they started the day.

As soon as he arrived at the bathroom, he locked the door behind him and slid down towards the floor. He curled himself into a ball as he replayed the words the pianist told him about.

_ (“I know now isn’t really the best time to say this Doyoung, but I thought about it. I know this would hurt, and of course it will hurt, but at least it would be better than divorcing each other,” Jaehyun started. _

_ Doyoung simply sat still on his own chair as he listened carefully to the pianist. _

_ The pianist sighed but continued nonetheless, “I think we need a break.”) _

Doyoung agreed, he wasn’t stupid. He was fully aware of the aftermath if he and Jaehyun would actually end up divorcing each other. That would just make things much worse and both of their lives would turn upside down.

As if it already hadn’t.

Even though that was the main reason why Jaehyun called him to the study room, he still managed to catch the other saying that tomorrow, they would be going on a trip for the whole day. The catch? They were going to do the things that _he —_ _Doyoung_ loves to do.

It somewhat warmed his heart about the fact that Jaehyun still thought of him despite everything. And that's where it hurt, at how he doubted that the pianist must have fallen out of love as well.

It pained him to know that apparently, it was only him who had fallen out of love. But he was lucky for Jaehyun. There were no words that could describe how lucky he was for the pianist.

Based on the films he had seen, when one would fall out of love, the feelings would start to go mutual until they would settle for an annulment. But Jaehyun, he didn’t even think of that for he believes that everything is just like a boomerang.

If Doyoung leaves, then he leaves.

But if Doyoung comes back again, then he would willingly open his arms to welcome him back.

Doyoung smiled at the words that were replaying in his mind, at how Jaehyun was so understanding that he couldn’t believe that even after everything, he would just leave.

At least the decision was mutual, that both of them had agreed to take a break from each other. Because maybe, that would be the way for them to regain the trust that they had once lost.

Just when he was about to fall asleep while thinking about the different thoughts running in his mind, Jaehyun knocked on the door behind him as he called him out for breakfast in one of the sweetest ways possible.

“Doie, it’s time for breakfast!”

Oh how Doyoung did not deserve a person like Jung Jaehyun.

  
  
  
  


It was now the start, the start of their last day together.

When he first planned this out, Jaehyun had actually thought that he would be crying and screaming then pleaded for Doyoung to stay by his side. However, he was actually surprised when he found himself being excited for today.

It wasn’t that he was happy about them going on separate ways for who knows how long. He was happy at the fact that there was a chance for them to have the happy ending they deserved from the very beginning.

Now, Jaehyun would be lying if he would say that he didn’t squeal at how Doyoung greeted him with a smile this morning. Because he did, and he was happy that he did.

How could he not squeal? Doyoung was practically wearing the cutest outfit ever with his grey-colored hoodie and on his face plastered a smile that he thought he would never see again.

Doyoung waved at him from where he stood at their doorstep.

And Jaehyun being the whipped husband that he was, waved at him the same way from where he stood by the car.

The singer had gone down running from the top of the flight of stairs down towards the bottom, then proceeded to run towards the pianist.

“Shall we?” Jaehyun asked as Doyoung stopped in front of him.

Doyoung nodded too enthusiastically, completely opposite to how he was acting for the first two days since he arrived.

And so, he opened the door for his husband to enter then closed it. After that, Jaehyun proceeded towards the driver seat, then started the engine.

He looked towards his husband, who was already looking at him from the very start. Both of them shared a knowing look, hoping that their telepathy still worked. And they were glad that it did, so they nodded as Jaehyun faced forward towards the road as he stepped on the gas and as Doyoung connected the bluetooth of his phone to the car so they could listen to whatever song he had on his playlist.

As they started their journey, Jaehyun was practically swaying from left to right as he manhandled the steering wheel. There were just so many emotions running inside him right now that he wasn’t completely sure on what to think. 

But there was one thing he knew and that was this was what Doyoung deserved.

On the other hand, Doyoung was singing to the song that was now playing on the speakers of the car. 

Music had always been his escape from everything. From stress to the need of finishing a work just in time for the deadline. From sad thoughts to thoughts that shouldn’t even have come to mind. Music was just the second closest thing to freedom.

And it was also how he met the person who he had promised forever with.

Now that he thought about it, maybe the best solution right now was a break from each other. Both of them need as much time as they can to come to terms about what they actually feel.

Now that’s where the hurt comes in.

No matter how much he convinces himself that once they took a break then it would all be good, there were just so many possibilities.

Like what if Jaehyun would find another?

What if he himself would actually end up loving another?

What if they just ended up divorcing at the end?

Doyoung shook his head to throw away all those thoughts in his mind. It was not the time for pessimistic thoughts, it was now the time to enjoy themselves as if it was their last day on Earth.

As time passed, Doyoung had found himself falling asleep, and Jaehyun had found himself cooing at the sleeping face his husband had.

It had been so long since he had seen the singer sleep, the last time being a few days before he left. Given that, he grabbed his phone from the front of the car where he placed it, then opened the camera app.

“People do say to take a picture since it lasts longer,” he muttered to himself.

Once he saw that the stoplight was now at the color green, he placed his phone to where it used to be then started to drive again.

This may be the last time they would spend together for the time being, but at least Jaehyun knows that he wouldn’t be regretting this once the time comes.

  
  


Two hours had passed and Doyoung woke up to the sounds of the waves crashing against the sand. He peeked the outside with one eye, then jumped in his seat when he realized where they were.

The fact that he was brought to the beach as his first stop made his heart sing in glee. He had missed the beach so much and it had been so long that he had gone to one, so having this as their first stop made him squeal.

When Doyoung was about to thank Jaehyun, he frowned a little when he saw that the pianist wasn’t in the driver’s seat where he remembered the other sitting there.

But when he had stepped out of the car and was met by the sea breeze, he could see Jaehyun standing by the shoreline, a video camera on his hand.

Doyoung smiled at how beautiful his husband looked, his hair flying at different places as the wind would make contact with it. Even just by standing, Jaehyun made it very attractive despite it being the easiest thing to do in the world.

He giggled to himself as he started to run towards where Jaehyun stood.

Maybe he wasn’t the most silent when running because in the midst of running, Jaehyun turned around to look at him, his face holding one of the most beautiful smiles the world has ever seen.

Was that the reason why he became such a famous pianist? Was it his smile?

Just by thinking about the smile almost made Doyoung fall face flat against the sand. But he didn’t. Then he realized that Jaehyun had actually managed to catch him, and also had the audacity to laugh at him.

“Doyoung, who said that you can close your eyes while running? You almost fell!” the pianist laughed some more.

Doyoung hated to admit it, but just by hearing Jaehyun laugh made him laugh as well. And so now, in each other’s arms, both of them laughed to their heart’s content.

Once the laughter had died, both of them pulled away from each other as the singer proceeded to dust away the sand that possibly had stuck on his pants when he ran earlier.

Once he was done, he looked up to Jaehyun who was reaching out the video camera for him to take.

Doyoung raised an eyebrow at him as he pointed towards the object.

The pianist playfully rolled his eyes at him as he waved the camera, “Do you really now know what this is?”

“I do!” Doyoung protested, “But what exactly am I going to do with it?”

“Take videos, of course! Do you want me to show it to you?”

The singer raised one hand up as he tried to swat Jaehyun away, and the other hand asking for the camera.

“I think we both know that I am fully knowledgeable about handling cameras. Right, Jung Jaehyun?”

“Gosh, not at you calling me by my full name,” Jaehyun snorted jokingly.

“What’s your name then?” Doyoung asked to fuel in his jokes.

“Well, for starters, you can always call me ‘baby.”

Doyoung shook his head  _ no _ as he grabbed the camera from Jaehyun’s hand. He laughed as he started to run in another direction when his husband pouted at how he had just got rejected when he asked to be called a baby.

The pout on Jaehyun’s face immediately turned into a bright smile as he chased Doyoung around the beach. What made his heart warm was the fact that the singer was actually getting this all on tape, the video camera facing towards him.

They ran in circles until they stopped in front of the shoreline for the second time that hour.

Both Doyoung and Jaehyun shared a look. The singer was aware that the pianist was trying to tell him something, but he didn’t seem to catch up.

He only understood what the other meant when he removed his shoes then placed it far away from the water, raised his pants then started to walk towards the water.

As Doyoung documented the action and as he was also struggling to tone down the laughter that almost slipped out of his mouth, he gasped when he felt seawater making contact with his clothes.

“Hey!” he shouted at the other who was still by the water.

“What?” Jaehyun titled his head, his eyes pretending to be innocent.

“Don’t throw water at me!”

But Jaehyun being Jaehyun, still did throw water at him. Oh how much Doyoung wanted to splash water onto the other’s face as well, but he was afraid that the camera might get wet.

He started to pout, but it immediately turned into a smile once again when he just thought of an idea that could help him film the event then play at the same time.

And so, Doyoung setted up the video camera on top of his shoes by the sand. He knew that he was still recording since he still hadn’t ended the video. Once he deemed that it was safe, he rolled his pants up the same way Jaehyun did earlier.

As he looked at the other who was still standing by the waters, he laughed at the astonished face Jaehyun was wearing.

“What?” Doyoung asked as he walked towards the water, “Am I not allowed to play too?”

When Doyoung arrived at the water, he shivered at how different it felt when it made contact with its skin. It was a good kind of different, like it was as if you could feel yourself sway together with the water. And it was very comforting, if he were to add.

He was pulled out of his reverie though when Jaehyun decided to splash more water onto his face.

Doyoung spitted out the water that had accidentally entered his mouth as he proceeded to look at Jaehyun with the most challenging eyes. He mouthed the words  _ game on _ and soon, the couple started to splash as much water as they could towards the other.

  
  


It had been a long time since the couple had that much fun. Once they felt tiredness kicking in, both of them decided to go out of the water and dry their feet first before putting their shoes back on. 

As expected, most of their limbs were wet from their arms to legs, but they brushed it off, the feeling of happiness much louder than worry.

Jaehyun informed Doyoung that he would be getting extra clothes from the car, saying that he had packed just in case the water fights would get out of hand. He simply nodded at the pianist as he went towards where he placed the video camera.

Doyoung brought the said object to his eye level, then pressed save for the video to save. He wanted to let the video run until the end of the day, but it might be better to video those parts that would stand out the most. For example, the water fight they had just now.

He decided to sit down on the sand as he checked the video, playing it at double speed. He would normally watch a video at a normal speed, but since he and Jaehyun were still living in the now, he decided to just skim over the video.

As expected, the video was as loud as it can get. He could hear the laughter from where they stood at the sea despite the camera being placed a few meters offshore. In the video, it was all smiles and laughter as water splashed between them. There was also the occasional running away from each other and the other just pulling them back to the water.

Doyoung swore he almost busted a lung while laughing when the clip played him and Jaehyun trying to drown each other in the water even though they were standing on a shallow area.

As he continued to watch, he couldn’t find it in him to hold back the laughter, and from a far, Jaehyun felt warm inside him.

The pianist was simply holding onto the bag on one hand as he decided to observe Doyoung from where he stood before proceeding to approach him. If only his hands weren’t wet, he would already have gotten his phone and also take a video of Doyoung laughing. But then he thought that he could always get more clips later.

Jaehyun wasn’t exactly sure what the singer was laughing at, but seeing him laugh made him laugh too. And oh how much did he wish that once they finally would meet again (if ever that happens), they would still be wearing the same smiles just like today.

The thought of Doyoung wondering if he got lost on the way to him came to mind, which made him chuckled. And so, he went out of his reverie as he started walking towards the other.

Once he was already close to where the other sat, a sudden thought came into mind.

While Doyoung was simply skimming over the video for the second time, he almost threw away the camera when he was suddenly being jumped at from behind him.

“Jung Jaehyun!” he shouted as he stood up from where he sat.

Jaehyun simply laughed as he clutched onto his stomach for support. Doyoung snarled at the thought on how the hell did the pianist think it was okay for him to jump at him like that whilst holding a camera.

“I thought it was nice to scare you for once, Doyoung,” Jaehyun reasoned out through laughter.

“Well, that wasn’t very nice.”

“Please, as if you haven’t done this when we were still rookies.”

“Hey!” Doyoung said, “That was all in the past.”

Jaehyun cooed at how the other pouted once he ended his statement, “That doesn’t make a difference when we are together, babe.”

And as if the wrong chord was played, a wave of awkwardness suddenly came crashing towards them, like the sea waves crashing behind them. Then just like that, silence came in between them as they coughed and avoided eye contact with each other.

Now that there wasn’t anything to distract him, Doyoung just realized how cold he actually felt when he just stood there with his clothes wet from sea water.

“Is that the spare clothes in your hand?” he found himself asking the other.

Jaehyun looked at him confused for a second, then he remembered the bag in his hand. He nodded eagerly as he handed out the bag to Doyoung. The singer simply bowed once the bag had arrived in his hand, then proceeded to go to the restroom he saw earlier.

When Doyoung left, Jaehyun decided to look back at the sea as he waited for the other to finish. Thoughts came as quick as the waves crashing. He thought if doing this was actually the right thing to do, would they regret doing this and still end up divorcing each other. What if the both of them end regretting everything and that would lead them to terminating their contracts with the company.

His thoughts were all in all, confusing. There was one part where it was all happy possibilities of him and Doyoung finally fulfilling the vows they made, then the other half was full of pessimistic thoughts. And no matter how much he tried to ignore those, he was still aware that it was all possibilities that could actually happen.

He shook all those thoughts away when he heard Doyoung calling for him to change.

Those things might happen in the future, but what was important was what is happening in the now. And what was in the now was him and Doyoung enjoying their last 24 hours together before the mutual break from each other would take place.

  
  
  
  


For lunch, the both of them agreed to eat whatever was the first thing they saw. And that so happened to be a place where most of the food being sold was street food. At first, they shared a look with each other, unsure if they should actually go or find another place to eat,

But deal is a deal, and Doyoung was not one to back down to what he had agreed. So now, he found himself bringing a whining Jaehyun who thought it was best to simply wear a white t-shirt despite the weather being a bit cold.

“Shut up will you. I thought you don’t want people to find out that you are  _ the  _ Jung Jaehyun,” Doyoung told him.

“I can whine as much as I can, thanks,” the other replied as the singer continued to drag him to the first food stall they were going to.

“You are aware that you are heavy, right?”

“Does my masculine body bother you that much?”

“You may be masculine, but I too have been working out,” Doyoung beamed with pride.

“Then you wouldn’t have been complaining as much when you are dragging me,” Jaehyun smirked.

“I hate you.”

“Oh tell me about it.”

Doyoung had finally let Jaehyun go once he saw the food stall that piqued his interest. The pianist raised an eyebrow when he saw the food that they were selling. It brought back a lot of memories from his childhood, and it would be his first time in a while eating it.

He wanted to protested and tell the singer that they should just get corn dogs instead then find a nearby Subway chain, but when Jaehyun saw how Doyoung’s eyes shined as he scanned over the mouth and how his mouth started to water, he just wanted to pour out all of his money to provide the latter a lifetime supply of the food.

When he approached the singer, he saw that Doyoung had already started picking up the food he wanted to buy.

“Oh Jaehyun!,” Doyoung exclaimed when he finally felt the presence of the latter next to him.

To be honest, he actually was confused when he didn’t feel Jaehyun beside him. And he was glad that the other decided to show up or else he would have already called the police station to find a missing person.

Once he finished filling the cup with a variety of street food, he handed it out to the person beside him who was hesitating to take the cup from his hand.

“Oh my gosh Jaehyun, eating street food won’t kill you,” Doyoung remarked as he continued to give the cup to the other.

Jaehyun looked at the cup then at Doyoung then back at the cup, “I know.”

“Take it then.”

“No.”

“Take it.”

“No.”

“You don’t want me to pull your hair in front of everyone right?” Doyoung threatened Jaehyun as he whispered it to his ear to not let any concerned citizen come between them.

Jaehyun rolled his eyes at the threat, which he knows that the singer would not do, then opened his hand to accept the cup that Doyoung wants him to eat so bad. When the cup was finally in his hand, Doyoung beamed as he clapped his hands.

“I know you would accept it. Now, eat.”

The way Doyoung had said it was more like a command, and that made Jaehyun gulp. He still couldn’t believe that he was actually going to eat street food after more than a decade. But if it made the singer happy to see him eat it, then who was he to back down?

Jaehyun held onto the stick that held what he could identify as a fish cake. Fish cakes were best served hot, and since they had that little petty session earlier, the food started to grow cold. And remembering how his mother used to do it, he lifted the fish cake from his cup then dipped it in the hot water being provided by the lady who owned the stall.

The pianist brought the fish cake to his lips, but before he took a bite, he glanced at Doyoung who was anticipating for him to eat it.

“What?” Doyoung asked when he realized that Jaehyun was looking at him.

The pianist shook his head then brought his attention back to the food in front of him. He gulped once more, then opened his mouth to take a bite. When the taste of the fish cake made contact with his tongue, his taste buds then started to dance at the flavor. And that resulted in Jaehyun wanting  _ more _ .

They ended up buying three more cups, two of which are Jaehyun’s and one for Doyoung, and the singer couldn’t contain his laughter at the sudden turn of events. 

Once they finished paying the lady — who seemed to be watching their drama from the very beginning, the both of them proceeded to look for more food stalls for more food to try.

The couple had found themselves eating to their heart’s content, trying every street food that they could find. They finished off their eating spree with some ice cream as they linked their arms together when they started to walk towards where they parked their car.

When they arrived at the car, they played a round of rock paper and scissors to see who should drive first. And even though it was Doyoung who lost, Jaehyun still offered to drive despite winning the game.

And so, Jaehyun started the engine and stepped on the gas. Both of them now found themselves jamming to the songs on Doyoung’s playlist once more as they headed off to their next destination.

  
  
  
  


As night had fallen on Seoul, it was when they realized that the day was almost over. And when the day was over, it meant it was already the start of their break from each other.

Doyoung may have fallen out of love, but he did read an article about how it was also natural for those who had fallen out of love to fall in love with the same person once more. It also stated that the person who had fallen out of love just needed time to see and reflect about everything.

And even if he was the one who had fallen out of love, it pained him to know that he was also hurting his spouse without him knowing. His thoughts just got so overwhelming that he didn’t realize that all Jaehyun wanted once his time in the States was over was to spend time with him for the next months.

He hated how they might not be together for their first anniversary, and possibly for their fifth anniversary as well if it took too long for him to realize.

Maybe his thoughts were too loud, or he must be unconsciously speaking out his thoughts, because he was startled when he suddenly felt Jaehyun’s hand holding onto his and intertwining it in the process. When he looked up to meet the other’s gaze, he saw the smile written across his face.

“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” Jaehyun asked as he continued to drive with one hand whilst holding Doyoung’s hand on the other.

“I can’t help it,” Doyoung won’t lie. He could hear the sadness in his own voice when he said those words.

He felt Jaehyun squeeze his hand as a sign of reassurance, and he gave out a small smile at that.

“Well, the night won’t be over until it’s over. So let’s not be sad and enjoy the last hours together.”

Time passed as they continued to drive on the read.

When they arrived at a familiar building, Doyoung immediately looked at Jaehyun, his face contorted in a surprised expression. He thought they were already going home, but he didn’t expect Jaehyun to bring to that one place he knew one of the most memorable moments between them took place.

It wasn’t that he hated the idea, but it ached his heart when he realized they were about to overlap the memory of the place with a sad one. It pained him to know that the last stop they were going to tonight was that one place they had made one of their fondest memories.

When Jaehyun pulled the car to stop once he was finished parking it, Doyoung hesitated to go out. He was afraid and was not sure of what to think. Was this even the right thing to do to end their night? Can’t they just go home and sleep in each other’s arms, just like the old times?

He frowned even more when he heard Jaehyun knocking on his window, but it was now or never. If he would disagree now, then he would probably regret it later. So, with a heavy heart, he sighed then stepped out of the car.

As he looked up, he saw the emotions dancing on Jaehyun’s eyes. Most of it was love, he could tell that, but when he saw the other one, he felt his heart shatter. It was as if it was calling for him to stay, to not let this happen, that if they spend more time together, then Doyoung might fall in love again for the second time.

But he can’t.

He couldn’t.

He couldn’t just let everything happen that easily, not when it was mostly his fault that everything had collapsed. Because it was never Jaehyun’s, it was never the other’s fault, but his. It was his all alone, and he hated that.

If only he hadn’t let his thoughts take over.

They walked side by side towards the elevator, their hands intertwined between them. They were silent on their way to the studio, but both of them shared the same thought.

Both of them knew that the other was reminiscing about their first time together here, giggling and kissing every chance they got. How they almost had a make-out session in this very elevator because they got too excited over the fact that they were alone.

And as they remembered it, everything started to hurt. Even their hands intertwining between them hurt.

If Jaehyun were to be honest, he knew that this wasn’t exactly the best plan ever, with choosing to have their last moment together inside the studio they found themselves dancing in after they agreed to marry each other. But it wasn’t like it was intentional, plus he had good intentions.

Dancing in the very room they made their first memory together would mean a proper closure for him before they parted ways for a while. And he knows, and he hopes, that once they meet again in time, they would dance in the said room for the first time as new people.

Their walk towards the studio was silent, both of them not sure what to say or what should they talk about. All they could think of was the fact that this was their last dance together.

At least, they hope that it won’t exactly be the last.

As Doyoung and Jaehyun entered the studio, it immediately reminded them of that night. But unlike that night where fairy lights were everywhere, this night, the only piece that was the same as the one before was the piano in the center of the room. The only thing illuminating the room was the moonlight from the moon outside.

It may have looked dull, but they know that the feeling was there. The feeling that they knew but can’t point out.

On instinct, both of them approached the piano, with Jaehyun sitting on the chair and with Doyoung standing against it, his hand on top of it.

Jaehyun hesitated to play a key at first, because he knew very well that once he played it, then it would hurt. All his emotions did a full turn when they arrived in this very place, and all he felt was sadness. 

But he still played it.

As the first key was pressed, Doyoung could feel it. He could feel the hurt in keys that the pianist was playing. He could feel the sadness, the pain, the lost hope and everything in between. No matter how much he had already reminded himself, he still finds himself doing it again, blaming him for everything to happen.

As the keys continued to play, he could feel starting to form in the corner of his eyes. But when the keys stopped, he looked at Jaehyun with dilated eyes, confusion also written on his face.

And that was when it hit him. 

Jaehyun scrolled through his phone then opened the music app. He searched for the song that held so much meaning to them, he was going to play  _ their song _ . Once he pressed the play button, he placed down the phone on top of the piano, its speaker facing the center of the room.

When the first key resonated in the room, he stood up from where he sat then approached Doyoung, who was still trying to process everything.

With all the strength left in him, he spoke out the words that Doyoung said during their first dance.

“May I have this dance?” he asked.

It was the exact same words that Doyoung had asked him, the only difference was the emotion in it. When it was the singer asking for it, it was more of a happy feeling. But when it was him, it was more of a sad feeling.

Doyoung, who was still trying to process everything, simply nodded as he let Jaehyun take his hand. 

Jaehyun held back his hand as he led them both towards the center of the room. Once they were in position, he placed a hand on Doyoung’s waist and led the other’s hand towards his shoulder. It actually hurt him when he saw that the other was avoiding eye contact, but then again, this wasn’t the best memory.

They did the first step, then the next, then the next, then the following patterns of it. As the song continued to play, the more it ached their hearts. This was supposed to be a closure full of happiness, not of sadness.

But then again, when did people get happy over the fact that they were about to part ways?

Every step they took, every spin, every key, every sway of the hips. Everything just reminded them of the months they spent together, how happy they were. It reminded them of everything, and the fact that they were about to put it to a stop of a while starting tonight was painful.

From the morning kisses to cuddles in bed. To the homemade cooking to the stolen kisses in the kitchen. From the wake up calls to the late night texts. From the daily binge watching of movies to acting them in real life. From every shot they took of each other to the sweet whispers they shared every night.

All of it, all of it was about to end in just one go. And it didn’t give justice to how long they were in love for. Doyoung despised the fact that no matter how much effort you put into one thing, if something goes wrong, then it would all end up crashing in just a snap of the finger.

The song almost came to an end, and Doyoung felt Jaehyun leading them to a stop, but they hadn’t broken apart yet. Both of them stayed in the last position of their dance, with Jaehyun’s arms wrapped around his waist.

They felt each other’s breathing, they felt the fast beating of their hearts. Both of them looked at each other in the eyes, Doyoung seeing how beautiful Jaehyun’s eyes were. It held so many emotions, yet it also looked empty. 

_ Was this my doing? Am I the reason why his eyes look like this? _

Both of them simply looked into each other’s eyes, admiring and appreciating every detail for the last time. Then Doyoung saw Jaehyun’s eyes trail down towards his lips then back at his eyes, as if asking permission to kiss him.

No matter how much he wanted to say no, he was aware of the fact that he wanted it. He knows that his heart wanted to kiss him. To close the gap between them, letting the bittersweet feeling take over their bodies.

People do say that the heart tends to act on their own, and that’s what happened to Doyoung.

He brought his hand towards the back of Jaehyun’s neck and brought it closer to his. At the same time, he also brought his face closer to the pianist’s. They breathed for a moment, then finally, closed the gap between them.

The kiss held so much emotions all at once. It felt good yet suffocating at the same time. Doyoung wasn’t sure why, but it did. And to Jaehyun, it also felt good but he wasn’t sure what kind of good he was feeling.

They kissed as if the end of the world was near. They kissed as if they were trying to connect the broken pieces they have failed to pick up. They kissed as if they were the only people who could give them the same feeling of love and trust.

It all felt bittersweet. 

As the kiss continued, it all felt bittersweet.

Both of them weren’t sure how much time passed as they kissed, but when they broke apart, they simply stayed in the same position with Jaehyun still wrapping his arms around Doyoung.

“Are we really going to do this, Doyoung?” Jaehyun asked, sadness evident in his voice.

_ Are we really? _ Doyoung asked himself, were they really doing this?

“Jaehyun,” he called out to the pianist, his voice cracking at the same time, “I’m sorry.”

There weren’t really much words to say between them, both already knowing that the decision was final. Now, the only battle between them was time and Doyoung falling in love again.

As they continued to hug each other, wanting to make every second count, Jaehyun spoke up, hope evident in his voice.

Because, it wouldn’t hurt to hope, right?

“Doyoung, just so you know, that no matter how long it would take, I will always be here to welcome you with open arms and with the same affection as before.”

  
  
  


༒❦༒︎

  
  
  
  
  
  


_ a year later _

Over the phone, Johnny contacted Doyoung in regards to the release of his new single. Now, Johnny was confused. He remembered perfectly how the singer asked him a specific date to release his new single, how Doyoung practically almost treated him to a meal just so he could get his way.

But now, Doyoung was, yet again, trying to persuade him to change the date of its release?

“What’s your excuse this time, Doyoung?” Johnny asked as he scrolled through his documents.

“Do I really have to tell you an excuse every time I ask this?” Doyoung asked over the phone.

“I need a valid reason as to why I am going to do this.”

Doyoung sighed as he rubbed his temples. Was Johnny really going to be this hard?

He knew that being friends with the CEO doesn’t exactly equal to many advantages because Johnny knows where to put his boundaries between his personal life and work, but he didn’t expect him to be like  _ this. _

“Johnny,” Doyoung whined.

“Doyoung,” Johnny replied, his voice firm.

Doyoung sighed again. But he really needed to do this, and if he had to wait for another month then who knows what was going to happen.

“Fine, I’ll tell you,” he said, feigning defeat.

Johnny hummed, “I’m listening.”

At the end of his statement, Johnny may or may have not shed a tear or two. But Doyoung couldn’t possibly know that since they were simply talking on the phone. 

But as long as it worked, then hopefully his message would reach him soon.

  
  


Jaehyun was simply scrolling through social media after a day of work. The music industry had grown over the past year, and ever since then, he has gotten even more recognition. It made him happy seeing how he was achieving so much, but there was something in the back of his mind telling him he still wanted one more thing before he would be fully satisfied.

You see, after they parted, Doyoung immediately asked to be transferred to another branch so he wouldn’t be able to see Jaehyun. And even though it pained him, he knows that it was for the best of them.

But when he simply was scrolling through social media in the middle of the night whilst laying on his bed, he shot up from his position as he read what he saw on the article.

And in all honesty, he couldn’t believe in what he just read, nor understood if it was for him or another.

But all Jaehyun knows is that, he might be able to find a reason to wake every morning, to sleep at night with no worries, and someone to hold onto every single hour of the day. And with just that thought alone, he smiled to himself as he went fast asleep into the night.

  
  


**_Risk It All_ **

**_by Kim Doyoung_ **

  
  


**ps. if you are reading this, i just want to let you know that i am ready to fall in love again. and i am sorry if it took so long, but i am ready to love you again.**

  
  
  


_ (Doyoung sighed one last time before he finally began the words he had always wanted to let out. _

_ “Johnny, you may be the CEO of the company I work in, but I know deep down that you also care for me as one of your best friends. I know this is all too sudden, but I am afraid that if I release this too late, he might already find someone new to fall in love with. _

_ Johnny, you and I both know how stupid it was for me to fall out love when all Jaehyun did was loved me and gave out his all for me. But now, I want to make this right, for the both of us. _

_ So please, do me this one favor and I promise that I will finally be happy and contented with the love I know he would give me.”) _

**Author's Note:**

> and that wraps the short series of fics that were inspired by faded in my last song!
> 
> leave a kudos and a comment! <3
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/jaejaesus)  
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.qa/119th)


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